Katy Perry teams up with Pokémon to mark franchise's 25th anniversary

Katy Perry has teamed up with Pokémon in celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

The ‘Smile’ pop star is heading up the ‘P25 Music’ collaboration between Pokémon and Universal Music Group, with more global artists set to mark the quarter-century milestone this year.

Today (January 13), a live-action video titled ’25 Years of Memories’ has been shared via the official Pokémon YouTube channel. “We’re kicking off our 25th anniversary celebration by taking a walk down memory lane!” its description reads.

Although specific details of the singer’s involvement are yet to be revealed, Perry is seen channelling Pokémon favourite Pikachu in a new official image – you can check it out below.

“Pokémon has been a constant in my life from playing the original video games on my Game Boy, to trading Pokémon TCG cards at lunch, to the adventures of catching Pokémon on the street with Pokémon GO,” Perry explained.

“I’ve even visited the Pokémon Café in Japan while on tour! It is an honour to be chosen to help celebrate a franchise that has given me so much joy in the last 25 years, and to be able to watch it evolve in the ways it’s provided that kind of electric joy for the kids in my life and around the world.”

Colin Palmer, vice president of marketing at The Pokémon Company International, added: “In Katy Perry, we see a kindred spirit to Pokémon, whose world is bright, fun and uplifting.

“Katy is a wonderful ambassador to help us celebrate 25 years of Pokémon, and we can’t wait for music fans everywhere to experience the exciting collaborations we have planned.”

Further information on the celebrations will be announced throughout the year, along with additional artist surprises. Fans can keep up to date with the forthcoming activities here.

Last month, Katy Perry shared the Zooey Deschanel-starring video for her latest single ‘Not the End of the World’. The clip sees Deschanel being abducted by aliens, who mistake her for Perry.