COVID-19 pandemic

The , caused by , began in December 2019 and was declared by the to be a from 30 January, 2020 to 5 May, 2023. Having spread worldwide, it had a significant impact on the world as a whole, including the Pokémon franchise.
==Impact on the Pokémon franchise==
===Pokémon Center and Pokémon Stores===
As of May 22, 2021, s Tokyo DX, Mega Tokyo, Shibuya, Skytree Town, Osaka DX, and Osaka as well as the Pokémon Store locations at Tokyo Station, Itami Airport, Kansai Airport are temporarily closed. Pokémon Centers Nagoya, Kyoto, and Fukuoka are closed on weekends beginning on May 22. Pokémon Centers Sapporo and Hiroshima and the Pokémon Store locations at New Chitose Airport and Aeon Mall Okayama are closed on the weekends of May 22 and May 29. Most locations continue to have reduced business hours.ポケモンセンター・ポケモンストアの営業時間及び休業に関するお知らせ｜ポケモンセンター（全店） The Pokémon Center Online website is also operational.
Existing Pokémon retail stores in Japan began closing on April 8, 2020, with all of them being closed by April 18. They began reopening on May 14, with all stores being reopened by June 1.緊急事態宣言に伴うポケモンセンター・ポケモンストアの臨時休業のおしらせ｜ポケモンセンター（全店） The Pokémon Store Outlet Kisarazu Shop, which was originally scheduled to open in late April,【週1日～、1日4.5h～OK・オープニングスタッフ募集】4月下旬、袖ヶ浦駅周辺に『ポケモンストア アウトレット 木更津店』が期間限定OPEN also opened on June 1.三井アウトレットパーク木更津に「ポケモンストア アウトレット木更津店」が6月1日（月）期間限定でオープン！ On April 25, 2021, some stores were closed due to a state of emergency being declared in , , , and .緊急事態宣言に伴うポケモンセンター・ポケモンストアの臨時休業等のおしらせ｜ポケモンセンター（全店）
Asterisks (*) in the table below indicate that the store was only closed on weekends during the period beginning with that date.
:
Location 	2020 	2020 	2021 	2021
Location 	Date closed 	Date reopened	Date closed 	Date reopened
PC Sapporo 	April 18, 2020	May 29, 2020 	May 22, 2021* 	May 31, 2021
PC Tohoku 	April 18, 2020	May 14, 2020 	— 	—
New Chitose Airport 	April 18, 2020	May 29, 2020 	May 22, 2021* 	May 31, 2021
PC Tokyo DX 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
PC Mega Tokyo 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
PC Shibuya 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
PC Skytree Town 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
PC Tokyo Bay 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	— 	—
PC Yokohama 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	— 	—
Tokyo Station 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
Outlet Kisarazu 	N/A 	June 1, 2020 	— 	—
Narita Airport 	April 8, 2020 	June 1, 2020 	— 	—
PC Nagoya 	April 11, 2020	May 19, 2020 	May 22, 2021* 	TBA
PC Kanazawa 	N/A 	N/A 	— 	—
Gotemba 	April 18, 2020	May 29, 2020 	— 	—
Chubu International Airport	April 11, 2020	May 20, 2020 	N/A 	N/A
PC Kyoto 	April 15, 2020	May 19, 2020 	April 25, 2021May 12, 2021*	May 11, 2021TBA
PC Osaka DX 	April 8, 2020 	May 19, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
PC Osaka 	April 8, 2020 	May 19, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
Itami Airport 	April 8, 2020 	May 25, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
Kansai Airport 	April 8, 2020 	May 25, 2020 	April 25, 2021 	TBA
PC Hiroshima 	April 18, 2020	May 20, 2020 	May 22, 2021* 	May 31, 2021
Aeon Mall Okayama 	April 18, 2020	May 15, 2020 	May 22, 2021* 	May 31, 2021
Emifull Masaki 	April 18, 2020	May 15, 2020 	— 	—
PC Fukuoka 	April 8, 2020 	May 19, 2020 	May 22, 2021* 	TBA
Amu Plaza Oita 	April 18, 2020	May 18, 2020 	— 	—
Amu Plaza Kagoshima 	April 18, 2020	May 15, 2020 	— 	—
Department Store Ryubo 	April 18, 2020	May 15, 2020 	N/A 	N/A
Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom 	April 18, 2020	May 16, 2020 	— 	—
On February 26, 2020, various events and in-store events were canceled or postponed and subsequently canceled as of April 15.【お知らせ】2月29日（土）以降に開催予定のイベントについて｜ポケモンセンター（全店） On February 27, the grand opening of Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo previously scheduled for March 6 was postponed.ポケモンセンターメガトウキョーがさらにパワーアップして、3月にグランドオープン！ | ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト On March 9, various health measures were put in place for employees and large events were canceled until May 6.ポケモン関連店舗での感染症予防の取り組みにつきまして｜ポケモンセンター（全店） On April 8, due to the aforementioned store closures, customers with April birthdays will be able to receive , crown, card, and coupon promotion until May 31. On May 8, the promotion was extended for customers with April and May birthdays until June 30.緊急事態宣言に伴う、ポケモンセンターのお誕生日サービスについて｜ポケモンセンター（全店）
From August 16 to 17, 2020, Pokémon Center Hiroshima was temporarily closed for cleaning due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19.新型コロナウイルス感染者の発生と店舗の臨時休業について - 株式会社ポケモンセンターポケモンセンターヒロシマ　営業再開のお知らせ｜ポケモンセンター（全店） On November 23, Pokémon Cafe Shinsaibashi was temporarily closed for cleaning due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19.新型コロナウイルス感染者の発⽣と店舗の臨時休業について - 株式会社ポケモンセンター「ポケモンカフェ心斎橋」に関する営業再開のお知らせ｜ポケモンセンター（全店） On December 9, Pokémon Center Kyoto was temporarily closed for cleaning due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19.新型コロナウイルス感染者の発⽣と店舗の臨時休業について - 株式会社ポケモンセンター【重要】ポケモンセンターキョウト　臨時休業のお知らせ｜ポケモンセンター（全店） On February 18, 2021, an employee at Pokémon Center Osaka tested positive for COVID-19.新型コロナウイルス感染者の発生について - 株式会社ポケモンセンター On March 27, 2021, a subcontractor at Pokémon Cafe Shinsaibashi tested positive for COVID-19.新型コロナウイルス感染者の発生について - 株式会社ポケモンセンター On April 22, 2021, a subcontractor at Pokémon Cafe Nihombashi tested positive for COVID-19.新型コロナウイルス感染者の発生について - 株式会社ポケモンセンター
In , several in-store events were suspended beginning on March 24, 2020.Pokémon Singapore on Facebook On April 1, the store's anniversary celebrations scheduled for April 11 were postponed.Pokémon Singapore on Facebook On April 4, it was announced that Pokémon Center Singapore would be closed from April 7 to May 4 under new regulations from the Singapore government.Pokémon Singapore on Facebook On May 1, the closure was extended to June 1 to align with the extension of the circuit breaker period.Pokémon Singapore on Facebook On May 26, the closure was extended indefinitely.Pokémon Singapore on Facebook On June 19, Pokémon Center Singapore reopened as part of Phase 2 of Singapore's reopening.List of Stores & Eateries - Jewel Changi Airport
In , the Pokémon Center website began offering free shipping on April 8, 2020 for a limited time.Pokémon on Twitter
===Play! Pokémon and organized play===
On March 6, 2020, the 2020 Pokémon Europe International Championships were canceled, and adjustments were made to the TCG ruleset to reduce player contact.Update for the 2020 Pokémon Europe International Championships | Pokemon.com On March 13, the Regional Championships in /, , , and were canceled.For the Health and Safety of the Play! Pokémon Community, Some Events Have Been Canceled | Pokemon.com On March 17, all Play! Pokémon-sanctioned events in the Americas, Oceania, South Africa, and Europe were canceled through May 14.Important Update Regarding Play! Pokémon Events | Pokemon.com (archived) On March 31, the 2020 North America International Championships and the 2020 Pokémon World Championships were canceled. As a result, the 2020 Play! Pokémon Championship Series was suspended, including all sanctioned Play! Pokémon events. No Championship Points would be awarded for the rest of the season. It was also announced that the 2021 World Championships would be held in London in August 2021 in its place.2020 Pokémon Championship Series Canceled | Pokemon.comPlay! Pokémon 2021 Championship Series Information | Pokemon.com2020 POKÉMON CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES DIBATALKAN | The official Pokémon Website in IndonesiaPokémon TCG Thailand on Facebook On February 9, 2021, the World Championships were subsequently moved to 2022, still being held in London.Next Pokémon TCG, Video Game, and Pokkén Tournament DX World Championships Moved to 2022 in London | Pokemon.comAbout the next Pokémon World Championships | The official Pokémon Website in Singapore「ポケモンワールドチャンピオンシップス2021」開催中止のお知らせ｜ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト「포켓몬 월드챔피언십2021」개최 취소 안내 | 포켓몬 공식 사이트
In Japan, on February 14, 2020, the Asia Top League Kyoto event scheduled for February 23 and Elementary Gym Challenge events after February 29 were canceled.「Pokémon Asia Top League Kyoto 2020」の開催中止について | ポケカ公式「小学生ジムチャレンジ」を開催！ みんなでポケモンバトルを楽しもう！ | ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト On February 21, the Champions League Kyoto event scheduled for March 21 and Pokémon Game Gym events after February 29 were canceled.「ポケモンカードゲーム チャンピオンズリーグ2020 京都」開催中止について | ポケカ公式『ポケモン ソード・シールド』を持ち寄って遊ぶ「ポケモンゲームジム」、2月・3月のイベントを紹介！ | ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト On February 26, City League Season 3, Trainers' League, Gym Battle, Pokémon Card Weekend Limited Battle, Start Battle, Pokémon Card Game Classes, and First Battle events from February 29 to March 19, Extra Battle Day, Challenge from Pokémon Card, and the Pokémon Card Game Caravan event at the Geo Naha Shintoshin store in Okinawa scheduled for March 7 were canceled.2020年2月29日（土）以降開催予定のイベントについて | ポケカ公式 On March 13, cancellations of these events was extended until April 3.イベント中止期間の延長について | ポケカ公式 On March 23, the Champions League Miyagi scheduled for April 29, City League Season 4, and Trainers' League events after April 4 were canceled. Gym Battle, Pokémon Card Weekend Limited Battle, Pokémon Card Game Classes, Start Battle, and First Battle events would resume on April 4.今後のイベントについてニュース詳細 | ポケカ公式 Three campaigns were launched beginning on April 3, April 17, and May 1 to support Pokémon Card Gym-authorized stores affected by the cancellation of the 10,000 TCG events scheduled during March.ポケモンカードジム応援キャンペーン実施のお知らせ | ポケカ公式今後のポケモンカードジム店頭キャンペーンについて | ポケカ公式 On April 22, the Pokémon Japan Championships scheduled for June 27–28 were canceled.「ポケモンジャパンチャンピオンシップス2020」開催中止について | ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト On January 22, 2021, the Pokémon Dragon King Cup 2020 event scheduled for February 6 was canceled.「ポケモン竜王戦2020」開催中止のお知らせ｜「ポケモン竜王戦2020」 公式サイト
In , on February 3, 2020, the 2019–20 Korean League Season 2 event scheduled for February 15–16 was postponed.2019-20 코리안리그 시즌 2 | 포켓몬 공식 사이트 On February 22, operations of the Pokémon School were suspended.본사 포켓몬스쿨 운영 중단 안내 | 포켓몬 공식 사이트 On April 3, all 2019–20 Korean League events were suspended as a result of the cancellation of the World Championships. Mini League and Korean League competitions were also canceled in South Korea.포켓몬 월드챔피언십2020 개최 취소 안내 | 포켓몬 공식 사이트
In , on February 13, 2020, the Taiwan Regional League in scheduled from February 29 to March 1 was canceled.寶可夢集換式卡牌遊戲 台灣 on Facebook On March 20, the Taiwan Regional League in scheduled for April 18–19 and Taiwan Town League were postponed.寶可夢集換式卡牌遊戲 台灣 on Facebook In , on March 28, Teaching Day, Card Day, and Gym Battle events scheduled from March 29 to April 11 were postponed by 14 days to comply with public health measures.Pokémon TCG Hong Kong on Facebook On March 31, the Taiwan Championships, Hong Kong Championships, Regional League, and Town League events were canceled as a result of the cancellation of the World Championships.寶可夢集換式卡牌遊戲 台灣 on FacebookPokémon TCG Hong Kong on Facebook
On May 14, 2020, an international event titled Pokémon Players Cup was announcedPlay! Pokémon Players Cup Online Tournament: Pokémon TCG, Pokkén Tournament DX, and Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield | Pokemon.com, featuring online-exclusive tournaments at the Masters Division for , TCG (through Pokémon TCG Online) and Pokken Tournament DX. This was the first time a western TCG client had been involved in an official event. Three additional Players Cup were realized during 2020 and 2021 later; the TCGO also hosted all Professor Cups and new events titled Pokémon Team Challenge and League at Home for engamement with game stores during this period.Winter Professor Cup Online Takes Place December 19 and 20Play! Pokémon Team ChallengePokémon TCG: Sword & Shield—Vivid Voltage Rewards via League at Home Events
Rewards for engaging in s were discontinued as well in the absence of physical events, with Season code cards being given to Professors/Leagues that applied for them in early May and Season codes being instead distributed to League at Home participants.
===Games===
====Core series====
Due to the cancellation of the 2020 World Championships, the 2020 International Challenge April and May Online Competition will neither award Championship Points nor the ability to participate in the Pokémon Japan Championships.
Due to the postponement of advance ticket sales for Secrets of the Jungle, the corresponding Jungle Celebi and Zarude event was postponed until August 7, 2020.
=====Censored words=====
On the Nintendo Switch firmware (as of Ver. 15.0.1) and in , , , , , New Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, "Coronavirus" and "Covid" are censored words.
====Pokémon GO====
On February 28, 2020, and Raid Day scheduled for March 1 was canceled in Japan, South Korea, and ."Nidorino and Gengar Raid Day has been canceled in Japan, South Korea, and Italy. Please stay tuned to our channels for updates." | Niantic Support on Twitter It was also announced that March 15 Community Day and other limited-time events would be canceled in these countries.日本・韓国・イタリア地域における3月のコンテンツについて - Pokémon GO3月のゲーム内コンテンツの内容に関して - Pokémon GO
On March 12, 2020, the Community Day scheduled for March 15 was postponed worldwide and various adjustments were made to the game.Updates to events: Abra Community Day - Pokémon GO On March 17, Raid Hour was canceled.Updates to events: Raid Hour On March 18, the Safari Zone events in , , and were postponed.Pokémon GO Safari Zone Update - Liverpool and Philadelphia – Niantic On March 20, GO Battle League was changed to remove walking and PokéCoin requirements and to lower the Friendship level requirement for Trainer Battles with friends until May 1.GO Battle League temporary updates - Pokémon GO On March 23, Lugia Raid Week and Raid Hour were canceled.Updates to events: Lugia Raid Week - Pokémon GO On March 27, the and Raid Battle events were extended until March 31 and Raid Hours were canceled indefinitely until May 6, 2020.Updates to events: Thundurus and Cobalion extended, Raid Hour canceled - Pokémon GO On March 30, the Special Research was extended through the end of April.Shadow Entei still needs help, and Alolan Exeggutor appears in Research Breakthrough encounters - Pokémon GO On March 31, the interaction distance was doubled.Temporary changes to Pokémon GO: Gym interaction distance has been doubled - Pokémon GO
On April 3, 2020, it was announced that the hatch distance for s would be halved and that the Pokémon Spotlight Hour and Mystery Bonus Hour events would be combined for the month of April.Spring into spring with Pokémon GO! - Pokémon GOApril Pokémon Spotlight Hours - Pokémon GO On April 16, it was announced that the Abra Community Day previously scheduled for March will be held on April 25.Abra Community Day rescheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2020 - Pokémon GO On April 20, the Raid Battle event was extended until April 28.Updates to events: Landorus in raids - Pokémon GO On April 27, Remote Raid Passes were added, allowing players to play Raids at any Gyms visible on their screen.New ways to raid, power up your Pokémon, receive Gifts to send out, and more - Pokémon GO On April 30, it was announced that no new Team GO Rocket Special Research tasks would be added from May to September.May’s Research Breakthrough encounter and Pokémon Spotlight Hours - Pokémon GO
On May 12, 2020, it was announced that a Play at Home section would be made available on the Pokémon GO website and in-game in the Poké Ball menu.Your guide to playing Pokémon GO at home is coming soon - Pokémon GO It was made available on the website on May 15.Play at Home - Pokémon GO
====Other games====
In , the launch of the Pokémon Tretta Championship Collection scheduled for April 2020 was delayed on March 11, 2020.SEGA Taiwan 卡片遊戲 on Facebook
From April 1 to May 3, 2020, Pokémon TCG Online players received additional rewards for logging in daily and participating in online matches, although this event has not been officially linked to the pandemic.Spring Bonus Rewards! - Pokémon TCG Online
On July 8, 2020, it was announced that the English voice recordings for , , and in Pokémon Masters had been postponed, and that their voices would be added at a later date.Special Event: Double Trouble under way! Team up with Jessie & Arbok! | News | Pokémon Masters official site
===TCG===
The were released early to select retailers for sale on April 18, 2020 in place of being given to participants.Have Quick, Fun Pokémon TCG Matches with Sword & Shield—Rebel Clash Build & Battle Boxes | Pokémon.com
Due to the cancellation of March 2020-May 2020 Pokémon Card Gym events, the in the pack were not distributed until the resumption of events on April 4, 2020. On April 7, the name of World Down was changed to , likely due to the negative connotations of the previous name.ポケモンカードゲーム ソード＆シールド 拡張パック 「ムゲンゾーン」 BOX | Amazon
 was released as downloadable content in July 2020. The ability to play it remotely via webcam was promoted as part of this release.
===Animation===
On April 3, 2020, two Pokémon movies began to be added weekly to Pokémon TV as part of a Pokémon Movie Marathon.Home Fun for Pokémon Fans | Pokemon.com
In Japan, from March 9 to April 5, 2020, , , and were made available for free on Prime Video to all customers with an Amazon account due to the closure of schools in Japan. It was subsequently extended until May 31.Amazon Prime Video（プライムビデオ） on TwitterAmazonアカウントをお持ちならどなたでも│期間限定無料配信 | Prime Video | Amazon.co.jp From March 18 to 31, April 8 to 30, and May 1 to May 31, all episodes of Pokémon Journeys were made available for free on the official Pokémon YouTube channel.アニメ「ポケットモンスター」公式 on Twitterアニメ「ポケットモンスター」公式 on Twitterアニメ「ポケットモンスター」公式 on Twitter From April 17 to May 6, the cable channel Kids Station was made free-to-watch each day from 6:00 AM to 12:00 noon in response to the state of emergency declared on April 7.今月の無料放送 | キッズステーション
On April 3, 2020, ticket preorders for M23 scheduled for April 17 were postponed.『劇場版ポケットモンスター ココ』特別前売券 発売日延期のお知らせ│ニュース│ポケモン映画公式サイト On May 13, it was announced that its Japanese theatrical release has also been postponed.『劇場版ポケットモンスター ココ』公開延期のお知らせ│ニュース│ポケモン映画公式サイト On May 20, the preview screenings scheduled for June 28 were canceled.『劇場版ポケットモンスター ココ』小学館連合試写会中止のお知らせ│ニュース│ポケモン映画公式サイト In the July 2020 issue of CoroCoro released on June 15, it was announced that ticket preorders would begin on August 7 and that the movie would be released in winter 2020.『劇場版ポケットモンスター ココ』特別前売券 発売日決定！映画公開は今年の冬に決定！│ニュース│ポケモン映画公式サイト Later, the new release date was confirmed as December 25, 2020. Despite this delay, the tie-in event introducing and her as a new sync pair, and and as NPCs in Pokémon Masters, went on as originally scheduled on July 9, 2020. A similar tie-in event in Pokémon GO that introduced Jessie and James as members of Team GO Rocket was released later that day.
On April 19, 2020, following the broadcast of JN022, it was announced that reruns would be aired in place of new episodes on TV Tokyo due to parts of production going on break, the only unplanned hiatus of the anime since the Porygon incident.アニメ「ポケットモンスター」公式 on Twitter On May 31, it was announced that new episodes would resume on June 7 after a seven-week hiatus.アニメ「ポケットモンスター」公式 on Twitter The following episodes were delayed as a result:
:
Code 	Japanese title	Planned broadcast	Actual broadcast
JN023	 	April 26, 2020 	June 7, 2020
JN024	 	May 3, 2020 	June 14, 2020
JN025	 	May 10, 2020 	June 21, 2020
JN026	 	May 17, 2020 	June 28, 2020
JN027	 	May 24, 2020 	July 5, 2020
JN028	 	May 31, 2020 	July 12, 2020
JN029	 	June 7, 2020 	July 19, 2020
On May 15, 2020, the official Japanese Twitter account and the Korean official site posted an apology that Assistant, the fifth episode of Pokémon: Twilight Wings originally scheduled for release in May, had been postponed until June 5.ポケモン公式ツイッター on Twitter오리지널 애니메이션 「새벽빛의 날개」 5화 공개 안내 | 「포켓몬스터소드·실드」공식 사이트 On May 18, the official Chinese Facebook accounts also announced it had been postponed until June 5.寶可夢 台灣 on Facebook寶可夢 香港 on Facebook
In , on April 9, 2020, the theatrical release of M22 scheduled for May 2020 was postponed; the film would eventually be released on September 30.극장판 포켓몬스터 「뮤츠의 역습 EVOLUTION」 개봉 연기 안내 | 포켓몬 공식 사이트 On July 20, 2021, the theatrical release of M23 scheduled for August 2021 was postponed; the film is currently scheduled for release on September 15.극장판 포켓몬스터 「정글의 아이, 코코」개봉 일정 변경에 대한 안내 | 포켓몬 공식 사이트
In , , and , two episodes of Pokémon: Indigo League were uploaded daily from April 17 to May 12, 2020 to the official YouTube channel for a limited time until June 22 (Malaysia and Singapore)/September 13 (Philippines) as part of the "Home Fun for Pokémon Fans" campaign.Home Fun for Pokémon Fans | The official Pokémon Website in MalaysiaHome Fun for Pokémon Fans | The official Pokémon Website in PhilippinesHome Fun for Pokémon Fans | The official Pokémon Website in Singapore In , two episodes of the Cantonese dub of Pokémon: Indigo League were uploaded daily from May 12 to June 6 to the official YouTube channel for a limited time until July 13 as part of the "Home Fun for Pokémon Fans" campaign.Home Fun for Pokémon Fans | The official Pokémon Website in Hong Kong
In , TVNZ aired reruns of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest from March 30 to April 27, 2020 in a late morning timeslot on as part of Duke Jr., a block of children's programming designed to keep children entertained during the day while they were stuck at home during the national lockdown imposed by the government in response to the pandemic.Covid 19 coronavirus: TVNZ launches Duke Jr. and expands kids content on TVNZ 2 - NZ Herald
In , the dub for Pokémon Journeys: The Series stopped for over four months after Settling the Scorbunny! had been dubbed, and after that time, some voice actors started voicing their characters remotely. Some episodes of season 23 were dubbed over the Japanese audio instead of English, for the first time in Brazil since early episodes of Indigo League, as a result of the pandemic.Renan Nest on YouTubeleegusta_ on Twitch
On August 18, 2021, Shinichiro Miki, James's Japanese voice actor, was diagnosed with COVID-19.https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-08-18/voice-actor-shinichiro-miki-diagnosed-with-covid-19-but-has-no-symptoms-now/.176395 On August 25, 2021, Shinichiro Miki's Twitter account announced that he was well and recovering, and that he would gradually return to work.https://twitter.com/miki_shin318/status/1430366161330335744
On August 24, 2022, Rica Matsumoto publicly announced that she had contracted COVID-19.https://twitter.com/rica_matsumoto3/status/1562425248179298305 Before her, Daiki Yamashita had also been announced that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19, as well as voice actress Lynn who worked on some series like Pokémon: Twilight Wings https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-07-29/lynn-daiki-yamashita-kohei-amasaki-tasuku-hatanaka-aina-aiba-hikaru-diagnosed-with-covid-19/.188173, Aoi Yūki https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-07-29/voice-actress-aoi-yuki-diagnosed-with-covid-19/.188145 and Kana Hanazawa https://www.crunchyroll.com/pt-br/anime-news/2022/04/07-1/voice-actor-kana-hanazawa-tests-positive-for-covid-19
===Other===
In , made the live action film available for free as part of a #StayHomeBoxOffice campaign from April 3, 2020 to the end of the month through the HBO NOW or HBO GO .HBO Encourages Viewers to #StayHomeBoxOffice with Hundreds of Hours of Free Programming | Pressroom
In Japan, materials from the Pokémon Illustration Lab, which were previously only available for education, child care, public, and medical facilities, was opened to use for families with children of elementary school age and below beginning on March 6, 2020. On April 7, the Pokémon Card Game Support Desk and the Pokémon GO Special Dial were suspended beginning on April 8.新型コロナウィルス感染拡大に伴う一部のお問い合わせ窓口閉鎖について On April 8, it was announced that the Pokémon with You Train service would be suspended from April 10 to May 31.「のってたのしい列車」の運休について：JR東日本 On April 17, the hours of Pokémon Customer Support Center were reduced. From April 20 to August 14, Creatures, Inc. ceased recruitment for new positions within the company, which at the time included several Pokémon game and TCG related positions.Creatures, Inc. recruitment pageRobert Sephazon on TwitterCreatures, Inc. on Twitter On April 30, Pokémon Local Acts goods began being sold online due to the pandemic making it difficult to purchase the goods in-person while visiting the respective localities.コラボ商品のインターネット販売について｜ポケモンローカルActs - ポケモンだいすきクラブ On May 29, a Pokémon Fun at Home page was put up on the official website.ポケモン おうちで楽しめるサービス
In , beginning on March 26, 2020, the official Facebook page began a #FunFromHome campaign.
In , , and , printable activity coloring pages were made available on April 17, 2020 as part of the "Home Fun for Pokémon Fans" campaign. They were later made available in on April 20, on May 12, and on June 10.Ở nhà thật vui cùng Pokémon | The official Pokémon Website in VietnamPermainan Menyenangkan #Dirumahaja buat Penggemar Pokémon | The official Pokémon Website in Indonesia
In , the release of the February 2021 issue of was delayed by a month because of late release of the expansion to Europe, which was due to COVID-19-related issues.Pokémony już wkrótce w kioskach | Blue Ocean Entertainment Polska website (in Polish)
===Deaths===
* Kumiko Okae, the Japanese voice actress of in M08, died of COVID-19 on April 23, 2020, at the age of 63.Drama star Kumiko Okae, host of 'Hanamaru Market,' dies from coronavirus at 63
Kumiko Okae.png|Kumiko Okae
==References==
Category:Pokémon meta
it:Effetti della pandemia di COVID-19 sul franchise Pokémon
ja:新型コロナウイルス感染症の流行による影響