Celebrating Twenty Years of Pokemon

From Kanto’s Pallet Town and Route 1 all the way to Kalos’ own Route 1 and Vaniville Town, the Pokémon video game franchise has come a long way. February 27, 2016 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Pokémon video games. The video-game magazine turned video-game Development Company Game Freak brought to life over 35 hand-held Pokémon games and over fifteen Pokémon console games in the course of twenty years. Pokémon has such a rich history, and they welcome the twentieth anniversary with a collection of specials, events, and products!

In February 1996, what North Americans know as “Pokémon Red Version”, and “Pokémon Blue Version” debuted in Japan as Pocket Monsters: Red & Green on the Gameboy. A Japanese Blue version would be released later that year as a special edition followed by the beloved Yellow version with Pikachu following the trainer as he or she progresses through the game. The original three Pokémon games combined reached over 31.4 million sales, referred to by IGN as the “Best selling RPG on the Game Boy” and the “Best selling RPG of all time” in 2009. The games would set the stage for what would become a multibillion-dollar series, changing the world forever.

Over the course of the next twenty years, the Pokémon Game franchise would explode far beyond the gaming industry and into mainstream pop-culture. In 1997, the franchise would debut its first TV series in Japan, which still continues today, featuring the forever-young antagonist Ash Ketchum and his beloved Pikachu. By 1998, Pokémon would cross the Pacific and make its way into North America, making its first United States appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California. An English version of the animated series would also find its way into North America, with the episode “Pokémon – I Choose You”. Within a mere month of its release, over 1.5 million viewers would watch the weekly Saturday morning cartoon.

The following year in Pokémon history brought a whole new world to fans in the form of the well-remembered and still strong Pokémon Trading Cards. 1999 saw the beginning of the Pokémon Trading Card franchise in North America, firing with 151 cards from Generation 1 including the much sought after legendary trio: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Pokémon Trading Card tournaments and card-trade meet-ups popped up across North America, featuring major tournaments such as the Super Trainer Showdowns organized by Wizards of the Coast in the years of 2000 – 2001, and the Tropical Mega Battle in Honolulu.

1999 would also be forever remembered in the hearts of many budding Pokémon trainers as the year the first Pokémon movie came out, featuring the epic struggle between Mew and Mewtwo, and the heart-wrenching scene of a crying Pikachu trying to wake a petrified Ash Ketchum. The movie’s showing would also be remembered for the never-ending line-ups in theatres of eager kids waiting to get their limited edition Mew trading card.

In the year 2000, the much acclaimed Pokémon Stadium for the N64 brought Pokémon in 3D for the first time on its release, with its kickoff Pokémon 2000 Stadium tour visiting twenty cities across the United States. The game quickly gained popularity, and in the very same year, the first Pokémon Stadium World Championships would be held in the United States, Australia, and Europe, culminating in a three day Championship event in Sydney, Australia. Pokémon the Movie 2000, as well as Pokémon Gold and Silver, also found its way to fans in this year.

2001 would further solidify the Pokémon legend, when Pikachu made his debut on the Nintendo GameCube in Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros Melee. The famous annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York also featured a massive Pikachu balloon for the first time.

The next fifteen years saw the Pokémon franchise expand and further gain popularity. The games themselves would feature another four generations of Pokémon, counting up to 721 Pokémon as of their last release of Pokémon X and Y. The franchise would also continue to feature a collection of spin-off games produced on various platforms, such as the DS release of Pokémon Dash and the popular Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. Sixteen more films would also be released, running alongside the Pokémon TV Series.

Moving onto the present day, Nintendo celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Pokémon by launching a series of events, specials, and products to mark the momentous milestone. Most notably, on the day of the anniversary, a special 20^th Anniversary Pokémon Nintendo 3DS Bundle will be released with faceplates featuring cover art from both Pokémon Red and Blue versions, as well as the original games pre-installed. Starting this month of February, Nintendo will also host a series of events focusing on a different Mythical Pokémon for each month of the year. February kicks off celebrating Mew, with an event card for a level 100 Mew for the Pokémon X/Y, and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby games, as well as various Mew-themed products. Similarly the following Pokémon will be featured for the next 11 months:

• March 1-24: Celebi
• April 1-24: Jirachi
• May 1-24: Darkrai
• June 1-24: Manaphy
• July 1-24: Shaymin
• August 1-24: Arceus
• September 1-24: Victini
• October 1-24: Keldeo
• November 1-24: Genesect
• December 1-24: Meloetta

Along with the game bundle and legendary Pokémon celebrations, various Toys ‘R’ Us stores will also feature special foil cards, including Pikachu and Magikarp from the recent Pokémon Trading Card Game: Generations expansion. The stores will have Pokémon activity books and posters of the original 151 Pokémon, as well as an exclusive Pokémon TCG: Generations binder for purchase to mark the anniversary.  To top off the celebrations, Nintendo has marked Pokémon Day celebrations with a massive invitation to all fans to Nintendo New York at Rockefeller Center with promises of a day filled with Pokémon-themed activities.

Twenty years has seen the incredible rise of the Pokémon Game franchise, attracting millions of fans from across the globe. Spanning over six generations of games, with millions of copies sold and integration into pop-culture, it has shown no signs of slowing. This February 27^th will revel in twenty years of an incredible journey that many are sure to remember.