In 2026, Pokémon celebrates which anniversary of its 1996 debut?

In 2026, Pokémon celebrates its 30th anniversary of its 1996 debut.

The franchise began in Japan on February 27, 1996, when Pocket Monsters Red and Green were released for the Nintendo Game Boy. Those role-playing games introduced players to collecting, training, battling, and trading fictional creatures.

The anniversary is calculated from the Japanese launch, not from the later international releases. Pokémon Red and Blue reached North America in 1998, while the animated series began in Japan in 1997. These later milestones are important, but they do not define the franchise’s original anniversary.

Pokémon expanded from games into animation, films, trading cards, manga, toys, and mobile games. Its 30th anniversary therefore marks three decades since the original Japanese Game Boy release, rather than three decades since any single later product.