For any massive multimedia franchise, spin-offs and side stories are theoretically meant to advertise the core product as much as they might stand on their own. Pokemon is one of the biggest and has long taken advantage of this reach, from Ho-oh appearing in the original anime series before Pokemon Gold and Silver to cameos like Munchlax and Bonsly in Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness before their true debut in Diamond and Pearl. Modern-day mobile games like Pokemon Masters EX continue to carry this torch.
However, not all of the series' mobile games have hit the same heights as marketing tools. Niantic's AR game Pokemon GO hosted an event for the launch of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl with something special for players to pick up. That event, which ran from November 16 to November 21, 2021, included Sinnoh region starters wearing hats based on protagonists Dawn and Lucas, as well as avatar items like starter onesies. DeNA's Pokemon Masters has never quite nailed launch tie-ins to the same extent, but it should try something big for Pokemon Legends: Arceus next year.
Pokemon Masters EX's History with Game Launches
As with any mobile game centering a cast of characters that has gacha-based summoning mechanics, Pokemon Masters has seen its fair share of special events. The game has holiday celebrations around Halloween and New Years' Eve, for example, featuring characters with unique outfits and Pokemon beyond their main "Sync Pair" partners. Sometimes there don't even need to be holidays for such celebrations, as with the current "Poke War Games" event that features Diantha, Hilda, Guzma, and Jasmine in costumes for a sort of in-universe publicity stunt.
Although DeNA's game released in August 2019 and was marketed as a collection of fan-favorite characters from across the now 25-year franchise, it didn't do much of anything to promote the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield that November. The first Galar Sync Pair added to Pokemon Masters EX was protagonist Gloria with Zacian in November 2020. There wasn't a single Galar trainer in the game to coincide with either part of Sword and Shield's DLC pass; The Isle of Armor in June 2020 or The Crown Tundra in October 2020. Sword and Shield's unique Dynamax gimmick also did not appear in Masters until August 2021.
The launch of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl this month has similarly gone without much fanfare. An in-game news release details basic plot behind the Generation 4 remakes with links to official websites, and there is a log-in bonus that offers 900 Gems (the premium currency used to scout characters at a rate of 300 per individual or 3,000 per full set) and 30 Sinnoh Scout Tickets. Those 30 tickets guarantee players one free five-star character, but the only possibilities are Dawn, Volkner, or Fantina. No new characters were added to celebrate, even though bigger names like Lucas have yet to appear.
Team Rocket Proves Pokemon Masters EX Can Get Tie-Ins Right
With a franchise like Pokemon that releases new titles every year, including other spin-offs such as Pokemon Unite or New Pokemon Snap, it's odd to see an overtly celebratory game like Pokemon Masters EX seemingly drop the ball on promoting its sister products. This is especially true given what it accomplished to coincide the release of Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (or Pokemon the Movie: Coco in Japan).
Pokemon Masters hosted a two-part Team Rocket event in 2020, adding Jesse and James from the anime paired with Arbok and Weezing, respectively. The mobile game features a lot of villainous teams from the games, in fact it's running a story arc around them that begins with Rainbow Rocket's Giovanni getting access to Mega Evolution for his Mewtwo, but the movie tie-in event was the first and only that added anime-specific characters. It missed the actual film launch due to COVID-19 delays, but even so.
What made this two-part event special is it not only had a story centered around the duo trying to catch a shiny Celebi, it also offered both Jesse and James to every participant for free. James in particular is a good Tech character, with his Weezing able to afflict status effects on the entire enemy team at once using Poison Gas. While anyone who was not playing during that time can no longer access these characters, it's likely their event will run again - and even if it doesn't, an ongoing mobile game does need some way to encourage player investment.
How Pokemon Masters EX Should Prepare for Legends: Arceus
None of this is to say it would be easy to throw content together for every event happening to Pokemon. However, for as much as Pokemon Masters EX has expanded its scope since August 2019, it would be good to see it put more effort into advertising other game launches. This tie-in content probably shouldn't be given as much weight as fresh stories inherent to the mobile game's blended universe, such as "Poke War Games," but even something as basic as adding a relevant character would go a long way.
Luckily another chance is just on the horizon with Pokemon Legends: Arceus on January 28, 2022. Arguments could be made that the upcoming title taking place in a historical Sinnoh region named Hisui would bar it from participation. Yet anime Jesse and James fit alongside game characters just fine, and there are almost endless possibilities when Pokemon Masters' narrative gimmick includes the trickster Hoopa pulling disparate people together using its rings.
The obvious choice would be pulling one of Legends: Arceus' protagonists into Masters as a new Sync Pair scout. They could use the Hisuian form of a monster like Zoroark, though Hisuian Braviary would be an interesting choice that adds story beats with Generation 5 protagonist Nate and his Unovan Braviary. There's plenty of opportunities for a fish-out-of-water event about a character meeting the descendants of their friends and colleagues; DeNA just needs to step up to the challenge.
Pokemon Masters EX is available now on Android and iOS devices.