In 1996, a pair of cute monster-collecting roleplaying games launched on the Game Boy, giving birth to one of the biggest entertainment franchises on the planet. Over the last 25 years, Pokémon has continued to be a massively popular RPG series, but it has also spawned plentiful spinoff games, movies, shows, and more — from the early days of Red and Blue to the phenomenon of Pokémon Go to the surprise hit Detective Pikachu. At The Verge, we’re using this anniversary as a chance to explore how Pokémon evolved over the years and where it may be headed.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68866987/ddeahl_170722_1861_0001.0.jpg)
Pokémon’s 25th anniversary: celebrating more than two decades of pocket monsters
Still haven’t caught ‘em all
-
February 25
Pokémon might be famous for its games, but it also has some great gadgets
From Tamagotchi-like pets to actual poké balls
-
-
February 23
Pokémon’s spinoffs are the series at its most adventurous
Games like Snap, Go, and Sleep helped shape the franchise
-
February 22
Pokémon is a huge hit because it’s cooperative
Twenty-five years later, that’s still the case