It won’t have escaped your attention that 2026 marks 30 years of Pokémon. Nintendo, Game Freak, and The Pokémon Company have been celebrating Pokémon’s 30th Birthday since February this year, but while the focus has been around the original gen one games set in Kanto, they haven’t entirely forgotten about the other generations and regions that fans have come to love.
Heck, just look at the big Pokémon Day stream from February. The star of the show was Pokémon Winds & Waves, confirming that Pokémon is far more interested in its future than its past. Of course, we’re not getting gen 10 until late 2027 at the earliest, so the rest of 2026 is really all about checking back in on the games that made us fall in love with the series.
For many, Pokémon Crystal and Emerald remain the high-points of the series. Crystal was, of course, the definitive and expanded version of the generation two games set in Johto, while Emerald did the same for generation three. Both games hold a very special place in the hearts of players everywhere, and now we can revisit them thanks to a special 30th anniversary release.
Starting today (June 18) Pokémon Center Japan has revealed a brand-new lineup of merch dedicated to the last 30 years of Pokémon games. Gamers can pick up shorts, collectible pins, or magnets, all with the original box art of every game from Pokémon Red & Blue all the way up to Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Each shirt is priced at ¥3,960 JPY (roughly $24.65 USD). At the time of writing, it looks as if this line is only available in Japan, however.
Pokémon Crystal and Pokémon Emerald are, of course, prominent in this line as a result of their immense popularity. Pokémon’s second generation was a massive step up from what came before, offering two regions to explore and some of the most memorable battles in the series. Crystal only improved on a solid foundation with brand-new content and some extra bells and whistles, including Pokémon sprites that moved for the first time ever.
Pokémon Emerald, meanwhile, improved greatly on Ruby & Sapphire by tweaking gym leaders, improving the story, and adding a good deal more post-game content. While we wait for these definitive Pokémon games to land on Nintendo Switch 2 (surely a matter of time) this new line of merch is as good a way as any to celebrate greatness.
- Release Date
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1997 – 2023
- Network
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TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- Directors
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Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano
- Writers
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Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ôhashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shouji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku
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Rica Matsumoto
Satoshi (voice)
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Ikue Otani
Pikachu (voice)