July 22nd is a very intriguing day in the Pokemon world. While most people don’t even realize it, we celebrate Rowlet Day / Mokuroh no Hi on this date. It is not the only unofficial Pokemon-related holiday in the year, though, but this is one of the better-known ones. Let’s see what this is all about!
What is Rowlet Day?
Most Pokemon fans will be familiar with Rowlet, as it is a rather cute Pokemon. This little owl has quickly become a fan favorite, and remains one of the top “cute” pocket monsters today. Some fans will know it has number 722 in the Pokedex, which also explains why Rowlet Day is a thing. It is celebrated on 7/22, or July 22nd.
As a result of this celebration, it is a time for fans and artists to share Rowlet-themed art with the world. This ranges from drawings to plushies to people sharing card artwork and more. It is a day to commemorate a Pokemon near and dear to many people’s hearts across social media.
It is important to note that Rowlet Day is NOT an official holiday or event. Instead, its concept is entirely fan-created, and it has been around in some form since July 22, 2017. Considering how Rowlet was first introduced in 2016 and got its Pokedex number in November of that year, there was no way to have a Rowlet Day in 2016.
The origins of this fan-created holiday are not hard to figure out. In Japan, there is a tradition called “Goroawase”, or numerical wordplay. In essence, any relation between numbers is given a special meaning. For Rowlet, its Pokedex number translates to a normal calendar date, thus the holiday was born.
Who Came Up With Rowlet Day?
The origins of Rowlet Day, or Mokuroh no Hi, are a bit obscured. More specifically, there is no single person responsible for it. Instead, several Japanese fan-artists and social media users banded together to make this a thing. With [according to rumors] over 100 artists flooding social media with Mokuroh artwork, some coordination was clearly involved.
Fast forward to 2026, and this unofficial Pokemon holiday has evolved quite a bit. Although Rowlet Day is still “unofficial”, the co-founder of Game Freak – Junichi Masuda – acknowledges and celebrates this day like everyone else. This seems to indicate it will remain a community tradition for the foreseeable future.
Other Notable Pokemon Days
Pokemon fans will know Rowlet eventually evolves into Dartrix, which has Pokedex number 723. As a result, Dartrix Day is tomorrow, although it is celebrated less intensely than Mokuroh no Hi. There’s nothing wrong with Dartrix as a Pokemon, but it does not have a fanbase the size of Rowlet.
Similarly, there may be some people who celebrate Desidueye day on July 24th. Again, this is not on the same level as Rowlet day, but it is fun to see people give more meaning to Pokedex numbers. It is not possible to do so for every Pokemon out there, unfortunately, but they all deserve some love!
