New Ed Sheeran song to feature in Pokémon games

Ed Sheeran has collaborated with The Pokémon Company group on a new song. The track, Celestial, will appear in the highly anticipated video games, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet launching on November 18 exclusively on the Nintendo Switch family of consoles.

The Celestial video is inspired by Sheeran’s childhood fascination with the franchise and features some of his favourite Pokémon such as Pikachu, Squirtle, Machamp and Snorlax.

It follows a typical day in Sherran’s life (with a Pokémon twist) and was directed by Yuichi Kodama. Featuring a unique ‘sketch’ themed art direction from Yu Nagaba, whose style is reminiscent of the doodles that Sheeran drew of his Pokémon as a child, the video is full of surprises for fans to discover.

“I’ve played Pokémon since I was in primary school,” said Sheeran. “Me and my brother used to have different versions of the games and would trade Pokémon together ‘til we each completed our Pokédex. I loved the cards but the games are what I lost myself in. I loved the whole world they created; it kept me distracted if there was negative stuff happening in my life or school that I wanted to avoid.

“It was a world I could escape into and I’ve played it ever since. Even though I'm 31 now, I still own the same Game Boy Colour and play Pokémon Yellow or Silver on planes and trains when I'm on tour. It’s such an honour to add a song into a Pokémon game and shoot a nostalgic video too. I hope you guys enjoy the song and video; it was a blast to film!’

“Working with a superstar like Ed has been a dream come true for us at Pokémon,” added Kenji Okubo, president of the Pokémon Company International. 

“We are all such big fans of his and, not only was he a joy to work alongside, his authentic love of everything Pokémon really shines through. Yuichi Kodama has done a fantastic job of capturing a feeling of pure childlike joy and sense of adventure within the video too. 

"Both of their genuine adoration for Pokémon makes this a truly special collaboration and we can't wait to see Pokémon fans and music fans singing along to Celestial. I hope everyone is also looking forward to enjoying the track later this year in the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games.’