Ed Sheeran Collaborates with His Childhood Favorite Pokémon for New Song “Celestial”

Ed Sheeran has collaborated with The Pokémon Company on a new song, “Celestial.” The new track will appear in the forthcoming video games Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, out Nov. 18.

To accompany the release of the song is a video, directed by Yuichi Kodama, which is inspired by Ed’s childhood fascination with the franchise and features some of his favorite Pokémon characters like Pikachu, Squirtle, Machamp, Snorlax, and more, and follows a typical day in Sheeran’s life—with a Pokémon twist.

The video also features sketch-themed art by Yu Nagaba, which is reminiscent of the doodles that Sheeran used to draw of his Pokémon when he was a kid.

“I’ve played Pokémon since I was in primary school,” said Sheeran in a statement. “Me and my brother used to have different versions of the games and would trade Pokémon together ’til we each completed our Pokédex. I loved the cards but the games are what I lost myself in. 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.”

Sheeran added, “Even though I’m 31 now, I still own the same Game Boy Color and play Pokémon Yellow or Silver on planes and trains when I’m on tour. It’s such an honor to add a song into a Pokémon game and shoot a nostalgic video too. I hope you guys enjoy the song and video. It was a blast to film.”