To celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary, the Pokemon Company is releasing two EPs based on the original two Pokemon games to come out. Titled The Red EP and The Blue EP, the former is available now, while the latter will release later this month.

　　While they're being released as part of Pokemon's 25th anniversary, the songs on The Red EP and The Blue EP aren't actually from the franchise. The three tracks on The Red EP are Take It Home by Mabel, Wonderful by Cyn, and Got 'Em by Vince Staples, who said "I've always been a fan of Pokemon, so it was particularly special to be asked to take part in this 25th-anniversary celebration."

　　While you won't hear the tracks in The Red EP in any Pokemon games or shows, they're not totally removed from the franchise. Each is peppered with themes, motifs, and references to Pokemon.

　　The Blue EP on the other hand will include remixes of the tracks on The Red EP by ZHU, a Grammy-nominated techno musician and producer. Later this year, a P25 compilation album will combine both EPs, along with some other tracks from Katy Perry, Post Malone, and J Balvin.

　　Elsewhere in the Pokemon world, Niantic is finally rolling back some changes made to Pokemon Go to accommodate players during the COVID-19 pandemic for New Zealand and U.S players. Players of the mobile title have met the changes with fierce criticism and a full-on boycott. However, it's not clear if the developer will end up putting its changes back in place, even as COVID cases rise across the U.S.