Pokémon NFTs on Sui?

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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!

Plus, other news this week...

📰 General news

• Immutable Ratings, a new onchain ratings app on Base, launched
• OpenSea launched support for wallet switching in OS2
• Memory, a new digital identity platform, arrived
• RAILGUN is considering integrating Mechs for NFT-owned accounts
  

🎨 Cryptoart

• Art Blocks shipped a series of website updates
• Jack Butcher and co. are working on a new Visualize Value app

🏆 Digital collectibles

• CloneX metadata is being migrated to Arweave after briefly going offline this week
• Meebits partnered with the THINK AI agents platform
• Yuga Labs rolled out Shadow NFTs for its top collections

🎮 Decentralized gaming

• Axie Infinity kicked off the Origins S13 preseason
• Cartridge introduced Controller Credits
• Fishing Frenzy partnered with Sky Mavis
• Forgotten Runiverse launched a Dungeon Run rewards event
• Kamigotchi is readying Yominet atop Initia
• Nate Alex released Zeg's Eggs, an onchain egg hunt

📱 Onchain social

• Lens announced its Spring Hackathon
• Farcaster is considering ending support for V1 Frames
• Zora released its $ZORA token

🪙 Memes & NFTfi 

• CryptoKitties introduced Meowcoins
• Dot.fun introduced panic.fun, an app for adapting NFTs into coins
• Fleets, a new image coining app built on Flaunch, launched
• GONDI added collection-level buy offers
• Mintify added support for Arbitrum assets

🌐 Virtual worlds

• Decentraland concluded its latest Metaverse Fashion Week
• Nifty Island rolled out PvE fishing

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