SAMIN SYED OF NEW YORK AND MINH BA LE OF VIRGINIA CROWNED POKÉMON VIDEO GAME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS BY
HULK HOGAN

New York City Declared August 8th "Pokémon Day" as Thousands of Fans Gathered in Bryant Park to Celebrate the Pokémon Party of the Decade

NEW YORK (August 8, 2006) - Today, in front of thousands of fans at the Pokémon Party of the Decade 10^th anniversary celebration in Bryant Park, 12-year-old Samin Syed from Roslyn, NY, and 22-year-old Minh Ba Le from Herndon, VA, won the title of Pokémon Video Game National Champion in the 12 and under and 13 and up divisions, respectively, at the Pokémon Video Game National Championships, the main event of the day-long festivities. Syed and Ba Le survived round after round of fierce competition, beating 62 other Pokémon video game finalists from around the country to win the national title. Both champions will receive an all-expenses-paid-trip for four to Japan.

"Pokémon fans are at the center of our 10th anniversary celebration, and we are excited we could share this unforgettable day with them," said Akira Chiba, president, Pokémon USA, Inc. "A special congratulations to both of our newly crowned Pokémon Video Game National Champions, who displayed the phenomenal skills and sportsmanship of a Pokémon Trainer.

Hulk Hogan was on hand throughout the day as thousands of Pokémon fans enjoyed sneak peeks at new video games Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, a preview of the upcoming DVD release of "Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew," activity stations, Pokémon Trading Card Game play areas, top 20 fan-voted character distribution, and more. In honor of today's celebration and 10 years of Pokémon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared August 8 "Pokémon Day" in New York City.

Pokémon, one of the most successful children's entertainment properties of all-time, is the collective name for more than 380 characters that one can find, catch, train, trade, collect and use in battle against rivals in the quest to become a Pokémon Trainer.

Pokémon Party of the Decade

The Pokémon Party of the Decade followed on the heels of the Pokémon Journey Across America tour, which visited 24 cities and attracted more than 125,000 fans earlier this year. Continuing the celebration, today Bryant Park was transformed into a Pokémon fan's dream and was open to the public free-of-charge from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For the first time ever, the giant Pikachu balloon that is flown in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was flown at a Pokémon event, directly over the great lawn at Bryant Park.

Pokémon Video Games

A pop culture phenomenon with more than $25 billion in worldwide retail sales, Pokémon has released 26 video game titles and has sold more than 140 million video games worldwide. Pokémon video game titles have consistently been ranked among the top 10 selling video games according to NPD, and in 2005, Pokémon Emerald was the #2 selling video game of the year. Most recently, Pokémon Trozei was released in March 2006, and Pokémon is preparing to launch three new video games this fall.

Pokémon Staying Power

A market leader across multiple categories, Pokémon has major staying power. The past 10 years are just the beginning as the brand continues to innovate in ways that will give its fans new and exciting content for years to come.

• Consistently ranked among the top three shows for Kids 2-11, the Pokémon animated TV series moves to its new home on the Cartoon Network this fall for its new season, Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
• Pokémon continues to release kid-favorite movies with a new direct-to-DVD titled "Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew," scheduled to launch in September 2006.
• Pokémon recently signed a new master toy licensee, JAKKS Pacific, to bring an exciting line of Pokémon consumer products to market in 2007.
• Pokémon recently announced the launch of Pokémon Learning League™, a web-based educational suite of animated, interactive lessons in math, science, language arts, and life skills for grades 3-6.

History of Pokémon

Pokémon was created when Japanese game developer Satoshi Tajiri applied his interest in video games to the communicative properties of the Nintendo Game Boy® system. After six years of development, Tajiri and his company, GAME FREAK, turned his "interest" into the first-ever Pokémon video game.

In October of 1996, the Pokémon Trading Card Game was introduced in Japan as a seamless extension of the Pokémon world. Tsunekazu Ishihara, producer of Pokémon, developed the Pokémon Trading Card Game with his company, Creatures.

After becoming a phenomenal success in 1996 in Japan, Pokémon launched to immediate star status in the U.S. in 1998 and has continued to captivate the imagination of children and adults.

About Pokémon USA

Pokémon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia which includes licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, an animated TV series, home entertainment, the official Pokémon website, and online retail center www.pokemoncenter.com. Celebrating its 10^th worldwide anniversary in 2006, Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 for play on Nintendo's Game Boy® and has since evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Pokémon was introduced in North America in September 1998 and today is one of the most popular toy and entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.

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