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Pokémon HOME—the cloud hub that lets players store, move, and trade their Pokémon across games—just dropped an interesting surprise.
That's because Pokémon HOME’s newest mobile update added “medals,” i.e. collectible digital souvenirs you earn by visiting real-world spots or participating in special events.
Nintendo calls them tradable, giftable items, but never once says “NFTs.” Yet currently in crypto there is tremendous speculation that these medals are, in fact, NFTs under the hood.
Why? A fresh name, Parasol Technologies, just surfaced in Pokémon HOME’s privacy policy. Parasol was quietly bought in March by Mysten Labs, the team that built the Sui blockchain, and it serves as onchain onboarding infra for game studios.
Admittedly, I don't know much about Sui, though my colleague David C. has been tracking the chain closely in recent months. And I've learned from his coverage that, unlike Ethereum's and Solana's account-based models, Sui employs an object-centric data model for efficiency.
In other words, the chain sorts all its data into unique digital objects, each “carrying its own permanent history and record” as David has previously put it.
I'm no expert on this approach, but from afar this design seems like it's particularly well-suited for supporting NFTs. Could this be why Pokémon HOME tapped Sui if the connection here is real?
We'll see if we learn more about the technical details behind these medals in the days ahead. But what is clear is that Pokémon is the planet’s top-grossing media franchise, and putting any slice of its collectible economy onchain would be a credibility lightning bolt for Sui.
Of course, it'd also be a watershed moment for mainstream IPs flirting with blockchain tech, and that opening would likely kick off a rat race for onchain activations among other large media franchises.
For now, there's no official confirmation of these Pokémon badges being NFTs on Sui, but this is a textbook big if true situation. Keep your eyes peeled on any updates here accordingly!
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