Movies

Ed Sheeran releases new song 'Celestial' for 'Pokemon'

By Annie Martin   |   Sept. 29, 2022 at 2:31 PM
Ed Sheeran released a single and music video for "Celestial," a song for the video games "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI Ed Sheeran performs at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November. File Photo by Sven Hoogerhuis/UPI Ed Sheeran performs at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November. File Photo by Sven Hoogerhuis/UPI Ed Sheeran attends the MTV Video Music Awards in 2021. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI Ed Sheeran attends the MTV Video Music Awards in 2017. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Ed Sheeran has released a new song in collaboration with Pokémon.

The 31-year-old British singer released a single and music video for the song "Celestial" on Thursday.

Advertising
Advertising

The "Celestial" video shows Sheeran imagine a day where he is joined by his favorite Pokémon, including Pikachu, Squirtle, Machamp and Snorlax. The video is directed by Yuichi Kodama.

Sheeran recorded "Celestial" for the upcoming video games Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, which launch Nov. 18 on Nintendo Switch.

"I've played Pokémon since I was in primary school," Sheeran said in a statement. "I loved the whole world they created; it kept me distracted if there was negative stuff happening in my life/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 Color and play Pokémon Yellow or Pokémon Silver on planes and trains when I'm on tour," he added. "It's such an honor to add a song into a Pokémon game and shoot a nostalgic video too."

Pokémon Company International president Kenji Okubo said working with Sheeran was "a dream come true" for the company.

"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," Okubo said.

The Pokémon franchise includes the video games, trading card game, animated TV series and more.