The Pokémon Company announced a collaboration with the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, where Pokémon fossils have been recreated with astonishing detail and are now on exhibit.
The National Museum of Nature and Science is normally home to informative exhibits about the natural history of Japan, but for a few months in 2022, it will be playing host to a massive exhibit on the fictional natural history of the world of Pokémon. Originally unveiled in 2021, the Pokémon Fossil Museum exhibition features life-sized statues of Pokémon like Omanyte and Aerodactyl, constructed with a careful eye for detail. True to its name, the exhibition also includes Pokémon skeletons designed to appear similar to the fossilized remains of real animal skeletons.
The Pokémon Fossil Museum is a traveling exhibition, and its time at the National Museum of Nature and Science will come to an end in June of 2022. The exhibition is slated to open in the Toyohashi Museum of Natural History from July 16 to Nov. 6, as well as the Oita Prefectural Art Museum from Dec. 10 to Jan. 24 of 2023. The exhibition’s Pokémon models and simulated Pokémon fossils will act as a somewhat natural fit for both history and art museums.
Although the Pokémon Fossil Museum is charming and impressive in its own right, it’s also a clever homage to a fundamental aspect of the Pokémon series. Fossils have played an important part in the video games from the very beginning, introduced in the first generation as an unconventional opportunity to add one of three Pokémon to the player’s party. All three of those Pokémon (Omanyte, Kabuto and Aerodactyl) are represented at the museum in the form of statues. Fossils have returned in nearly every subsequent Pokémon generation, with the exception of Generation II.
In addition to the models shown off in the Pokémon Fossil Museum’s promotional video, audiences can also catch a glimpse at a Pikachu dressed as an archaeologist, represented by both a costumed character and an adorable figure riding on the back of an Aerodactyl. This archaeologist Pikachu is an original design for the exhibition, initially introduced during its first run in the summer of 2021.
Pokémon fans interested in an in-depth look at the detailed models in the exhibition, as well as those who just want to see a fossil-excavating Pikachu, can catch the Pokémon Fossil Museum at one of its three temporary locations over the course of the year.
Source: Twitter