ITZY shares Pokémon memories, stars in new Pokémon commercial

MANILA, Philippines — Members of K-Pop girl group ITZY are the stars of the newly released commercial to celebrate the release of "Pokémon Legends: Arceus," as released by the Pokemon Company on YouTube recently.

The 15-second and 30-second commercial titled "WANNABE A LEGEND" starts off with the five members of ITZY dancing to the hit song, "WANNABE." You can also see all the members of ITZY having fun while playing "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" together.

"I grew up watching Pokémon since I was a kid, so I'm very happy to have a tie-up! I had a lot of fun during the filming. Originally, I liked Snorlax, but I fell in love with Eevee during this shoot," Lea shared when they were asked what they felt about the shoot.

"It was a great honor and a strange feeling to be a model for a commercial of Pokémon, which I've loved since I was a child," Ryuujin said.

Other members shared their Pokemon memories.

"I remember walking around and catching Pokémon when "Pokémon GO" was even more exciting than it is now! I think I mainly caught the cute ones," Yeaji narrated.

"I was always playing with a game console when I was little," Ryuujin said.

Chae-ryong said she "was addicted to Pokémon GO," and once walked around Gangnam Station with YoonA on a cold winter day. She added, "It was fun to see so many new Pokémon, different from my usual commute, and we often walked around even though it was cold!"

YoonA shared her Pokemon momories too, saying, "When I was a trainee, I got hooked on 'Pokémon GO' with my sister Chae-ryong, and I remember walking around Gangnam Station with her, trying to catch Pokémon with more enthusiasm than anyone else.

"Pokémon Legends: Arceus" is a fusion of "action" and "RPG" that challenges the expression of the new Pokémon series. 

In addition, a campaign called "#PokemonLegendsChallenge" is being held on the video posting platform, TikTok. The official Pokémon TikTok account will sequentially release videos of each member of ITZY challenging the original effect that allows users to take a commemorative photo with Pokémon against the backdrop of the magnificent nature of the Hisui Region, the stage of the game's adventure.

ITZY is a five-member girl group affiliated with JYP Entertainment that debuted on February 12, 2019. Their debut song "DALLA DALLA" was released on September 24, 2021, and their first full-length album "CRAZY IN LOVE" ranked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, the main U.S. Billboard chart, their highest ranking, and charted for two consecutive weeks. It also climbed to #12 on another main chart, "Artist 100", proving its rising global popularity. — Video from Pokémon Asia ENG via YouTube

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