Calling all Pokemon experts, Tencent is hiring!
Yep, you read that right. The Chinese-based company recently posted several listings for Pokemon-related jobs in the Asian marketplace. According to Niko Partners Senior Analyst Danial Ahmad, there are now 19 listings specifically for the Pokemon franchise that Tencent is trying to fill, with the most interesting being a Pokemon consultant position with some rather quirky requirements.
According to Ahmed's tweet, the consultant position requires potential hires to have cleared all the Pokemon games with over 900+ hours of playtime, watched 500+ episodes of the anime, have a master ball ranking in competitive play, and know the history of Pokemon on top of everything.
The position is unusual due to its requirements, but Tencent is currently partnered with Nintendo and Game Freak in several ventures regarding Pokemon. For one, Tencent is the primary distributor of Nintendo Switch products in China, being one of the few companies that has struck a deal with the Communist Party to port authentic Nintendo products into the country. Tencent also has a working relationship with Game Freak and Nintendo to develop their own Pokemon game, titled Pokemon Unite.
Pokemon Unite was first revealed earlier this year, and is essentially a 5 v 5 strategy MOBA-styled game where players will catch and level up their own team of Pokemon to outscore the opposing team in a given time period. Pokemon Unite is another in a series of side games involving the Pokemon franchise coming from external sources, such as Pokemon Go from Niantic or Pokken Tournament from Bandai Namco.
The hiring of these positions can be looked at through several angles, but for Tencent it seems to be a commitment not only for Pokemon Unite, but possibly future Pokemon content coming from the company. If their relationship with Nintendo and Game Freak remains positive, then it would be possible to see a series of smaller spinoff titles from Tencent in the future, especially those designed for the Asian markets. This is all speculation at this point.
For now, any Pokemon experts out there looking for a job and can read Mandarin, you may want to apply.
