Thirty years later, Pokémon isn’t just a game. It’s a global geek-culture phenomenon.

In 1996, a strange little idea from Japan changed video games forever.

Players were given a simple mission: explore a world filled with mysterious creatures, catch them, train them and become the very best.

Three decades later, those creatures have become some of the most recognizable characters on Earth.

Pokémon is 30 years old—and somehow, the obsession may be bigger than ever.

From trading cards and video games to sneakers, plush toys, collectibles and limited-edition merchandise, Pokémon has evolved from a Nintendo phenomenon into one of the most powerful brands in geek culture.

And September 2026 is giving fans another reason to catch ’em all.

The 30th Anniversary Effect

Pokémon’s 30th anniversary has turned 2026 into a year-long celebration.

The latest wave has been particularly visible in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

The Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration expansion launched worldwide on September 16, bringing anniversary-themed cards and products to collectors. Official Pokémon merchandise has also continued to expand, including special collections combining promo cards, stickers and booster packs.

For longtime fans, it’s more than another card release.

It’s a trip back to childhood.

The first generation of Pokémon fans who discovered Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo and the original 151 creatures in the 1990s are now adults.

Many of them have jobs.

Many have disposable income.

And many suddenly have the ability to buy the Pokémon merchandise they couldn’t afford when they were ten years old.

That’s a powerful combination.

The Collector Generation Has Arrived

The Pokémon phenomenon is also perfectly positioned for today’s collectibles culture.

Trading cards aren’t simply being played anymore.

They’re being:

• Collected
• Graded
• Displayed
• Traded
• Resold
• Unboxed
• Livestreamed
• Discussed on social media

A rare card can become the centerpiece of a collection.

A sealed product can become a display piece.

A childhood card can become an emotional time capsule.

And an unusual printing error can suddenly become the thing everybody is talking about.

Enter “Blood Mew”

One of the strangest Pokémon collecting stories of September involves unusual Mew misprints from the 30th Celebration set.

Collectors have nicknamed the cards “Blood Mew” because large red areas appear across portions of the artwork.

The cards quickly generated attention online, with some sellers posting extremely high asking prices.

There’s an important distinction, however: those are asking prices, not confirmed sales. Reports as of September 21 had not documented a completed sale at those prices, and Pokémon had not officially classified the cards as a special variant.

And that’s exactly what makes modern collecting culture fascinating.

The hunt isn’t always about finding something that was intentionally designed to be rare.

Sometimes the hunt is about finding something that wasn’t supposed to happen at all.

Pokémon Has Become a Nostalgia Machine

There’s a reason Pokémon remains so powerful after 30 years.

It has successfully crossed generations.

A parent who played Pokémon Red or Blue can now introduce Pokémon to their own children.

Someone who collected cards in 1999 can walk into a store in 2026 and experience that same rush of opening a booster pack.

The technology has changed.

The graphics have changed.

The characters have multiplied.

But the basic thrill remains remarkably similar:

What’s inside the next pack?

That question has survived for three decades.

And Retailers Know It

The Pokémon anniversary isn’t happening in isolation.

Major retailers are increasingly treating collectibles as an important part of their businesses.

Recent reporting on the anniversary card release described significant lines at Target stores in New York and New Jersey, with more than 100 customers reportedly waiting for anniversary products at some locations. The broader U.S. trading-card market has also become a major commercial category.

Walmart has even introduced a collectibles drawing system designed to manage demand for scarce Pokémon TCG products, replacing the traditional first-come, first-served rush with a lottery-style approach at participating stores.

That’s a pretty remarkable transformation.

Thirty years ago, Pokémon was something kids traded at school.

Today, Pokémon releases can create organized retail systems designed specifically to manage collector demand.

Pokémon Isn’t Just a Game Anymore

This may be the biggest reason Pokémon has survived for three decades.

It isn’t dependent on one medium.

There are video games.

There is the animated series.

There are movies.

There are trading cards.

There are plush toys.

There is clothing.

There are collaborations with fashion brands.

There are collectibles.

There are conventions.

There are competitive events.

There are mobile games.

There is an enormous online community.

Pokémon has essentially become its own ecosystem.

And that ecosystem allows fans to participate in completely different ways.

One person may never play the video games but collect cards.

Another might care only about the anime.

Someone else might collect plush Pokémon.

Another fan might spend hours battling competitively.

They are all part of the same culture.

The 1990s Are Still Having a Moment

There’s another reason Pokémon feels particularly relevant in 2026.

The 1990s are back.

From vintage toys and fashion to music, movies, video games and collectibles, the decade continues to influence modern pop culture.

Pokémon sits directly in the middle of that nostalgia wave.

For Millennials, Pokémon isn’t an unfamiliar new franchise.

It’s part of their childhood.

And for younger fans, it’s a living franchise that continues to introduce new characters and stories.

That creates something unusual:

A fandom with multiple generations of nostalgia happening simultaneously.

Collecting Has Become the New Playground

The modern Pokémon collector isn’t necessarily interested in simply owning the most expensive card.

For many fans, the fun is in the hunt.

Finding an old card at a garage sale.

Pulling a rare card from a pack.

Discovering an unusual print error.

Completing a particular Pokémon set.

Finding a favorite character in an unexpected collaboration.

Building a display around one Pokémon.

The collection becomes a personal story.

And that’s why the Pokémon phenomenon connects so strongly with the larger collectibles boom of 2026.

People don’t just want digital experiences.

They want something physical.

Something they can hold.

Something they can display.

Something they can show another person.

What Happens After 30?

That’s the big question.

Pokémon has already survived three decades of technological change, changing gaming habits and generations of new entertainment.

Its continued popularity suggests that the brand has become something bigger than any single video game.

It’s become a piece of modern pop culture history.

The kids who first heard the phrase “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” in the 1990s are now adults.

And many of them are still trying.

Only now they’re doing it with credit cards, graded slabs, display cases and online marketplaces.

The GeekCaster Take

Pokémon’s 30th anniversary isn’t simply a celebration of an old video-game franchise.

It’s a demonstration of how powerful nostalgia + collecting + fandom can become.

A Pokémon card can be a game piece.

It can be a collectible.

It can be artwork.

It can be memorabilia.

It can be a conversation starter.

And for someone who grew up with Pokémon, it can be a tiny piece of childhood preserved in cardboard.

That’s why Pokémon remains one of the defining stories of geek culture in 2026.

Thirty years later, the adventure isn’t over.

And somewhere out there, somebody is still opening a booster pack and hoping for something amazing.

Pokémon’s 30th anniversary touches nearly every corner of geek culture—gaming, anime, trading cards, collectibles, nostalgia, fashion and social media—making it a natural centerpiece for September’s geek conversation. The anniversary also arrives at a time when collectibles are experiencing broader mainstream attention.

Gotta catch ’em all.

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The Coronavirus has changed a lot in such a short amount of time. We have went from carrying out our daily routines, to panic buying, frantic webMD symptom searching, and losing our minds due to stay at home orders. Most people have turned to any form of entertainment we could find, even getting back into old hobbies just to maintain our sanity while stuck at home. Unfortunately for those of us who have chose to pass time by binge watching and picking up new shows, we might experience some big let downs.

THE ANIME INDUSTRY

A lot of people were looking forward to what the anime industry had in store for us this spring 2020. After hearing about the plethora of new shows and movies that were scheduled to come out this year, people got pretty excited. That excitement came to an abrupt halt, due to COVID-19 being the real star of the show

STREAMING SERVICES AND MANGAS

Some anime production company’s often release new seasons and series, while still working on voice overs for a couple of those episodes. With the quarantine still going on, a lot of voice actors are not able to record until further notice, although Funimation is allowing some actors to record from home. Crunchyroll announced that they will be pausing all recordings for upcoming English dubs. Funimation has also announced delays to both its Simuldub and Simulcast schedules. Mangas and magazines have taken a little hit as well. Such as the popular magazine “Weekly Shonen Jump“ who had to postponed their 21st issue by a week. Even series that were scheduled to release during summer/fall are getting pushed back. Listed below are some of the latest announced delays.

• The new Pokémon series based on the Pokémon Sword and Shield game will be delayed and older episodes of Pokémon will air in its time slot.

• APPARE-RANMAN! Episode 4

• The Millionaire Detective Balance: UNLIMITED Episode 3

• Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater, Episode 4

• Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Part 2, Episode 1

• No Guns Life season 2, Episode 1

• Neon Genesis Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon A Time, The Movie. 

• Listeners, Episode 2

• Demon Slayer, Season 2

• The Promised Neverland, Season 2

• Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Episode 155 ( reruns starting from episode 1 will be shown instead )

• Kingdom, Season 3 Episode 5

• RE: ZERO – Staring Life In Another World, Season 2

• Fate/Stay Night: Heavens Feel III. Spring Song, The Movie

• Black Clover, Episode 133
  

For more info go to: Animenewsnetwork

In Memory of Kumiko Okae

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To recap, just in case you’ve missed one of the biggest franchises in the Nintendo Universe, each generation of video gamers has witnessed a new release of some form of a Pokémon game. Let’s do a slight timeline of a few of the games, shall we?

• 1998, Step 1 of getting gamers to interact with other people: Pokémon Red and Blue allowed gamers to trade and battle with their friends by linking their Gameboy’s with a GBA Link Cable. You just need to link the Gameboy’s together in order for this to work.
• 2010, Step 2 of getting gamers to interact with others because Step 1 wasn’t effective: Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver came with a Pokéwalker which allowed Pokémon trainers to level up and transfer their Pokémon with a tiny little Pokéball that clipped onto your pants. You just need to go for a walk in order for your Pokémon to level up.
• 2011, Step 3 of getting gamers to interact with others because they thought last year would work for sure but it didn’t so they had to try a different method: Pokémon Black and White stepped up their interaction game and made it easy to battle friends wherever you are, regardless of whether you’re in the Pokémon Center or not. Hey. Look at that. Interaction via wireless settings. Go exchange friend codes and play with your friends.
• 2013, Step 4 of getting gamers to interact with others because apparently gamers have no friends so this method didn’t work either: Pokémon X and Y took the internet settings on the DSi to a whole new level by allowing gamers to find friends via streetpass. Pokémon trainers don’t even need to search for other players anymore because the DSi does it for them. All you need to do is be in the same location as someone else who is playing Pokémon X and Y and you get rewards for doing so.
• 2016, Step 5 of getting gamers to interact with others because clearly all of the other steps did not go according to plan: Pokémon GO allows Pokémon trainers to catch Pokémon just outside of their homes! Go for a walk and catch other Pokémon! Be on the same team as your friends and challenge the gym which is located at different spots! JUST GO OUTSIDE AND TALK TO PEOPLE.

Do you get why Nintendo and Game Freak are pushing Pokémon GO so much now? The companies have tried in the past to get gamers to interact, but people always found a way to either cheat the system or not even interact at all. The app is actually forcing people to leave their homes and interact with human beings which is a good sign. I am a gamer myself and honestly I don’t like leaving the house because I know that I have every game console and every game cartridge in America in my basement. Why leave home and step out into the real world when I have tons of fantasy worlds in my tv screen? There used to be no point in leaving, but now there is. The beauty of Pokémon GO is that it brings the fantasy world into reality. Now there’s a reason why I walk two towns away from home, and that’s to catch Pokémon.

Now here’s some of my Pokémon GO adventures; When the app was first released, my dad and I were sitting in the car, leaving CVS Pharmacy. As we stop at the stop sign, my dad notices this male teenager who looks oddly familiar to him. I turn to see who the boy is, and it took me just a few moments before I realized that the kid skateboarding down the street was my sister’s friend. He was making his way towards the pharmacy, not to pick up necessary goods, but to catch Pokémon.

Another experience I had was just the other day when a group of friends and I decide to go to the carnival. Of course, the whole ride there was the four of us constantly checking down at our phones to see if there are any Pokémon near by. The whole time we were out and about, one of my friends decides to scream “Are you playing Pokémon GO?” which eventually just got shortened to screaming the name of the app at anyone on their phones. On our way to the carnival, we run into my brother’s friend who is also looking down at his phone. My friend notices him and screams “Pokémon GO?” My brother’s friend shows us his phone screen and asks “How did you know?” And he walks away, continuing his adventure. You can just tell whenever someone is playing the app. It’s like this weird connection gamers have. Or maybe we just assumed that every person staring at their phones while wearing a backwards baseball cap was playing Pokémon GO. Later on that day when we were going back to my friend’s house, this car sees my friend group and I and pulls over to the side of the road. The driver rolls down his window and screams “Pokémon GO?” at us. We all turn to see one of our other friend’s driving around his younger brother while playing Pokémon GO.

As opposed to me running into my fellow gaming friends, Shayla Wiggins, a 19-year-old from Wyoming, ran into a dead body. The female teenager was playing Pokémon GO during her morning walk in order to catch Pokémon when she discovered a man’s body faced down in the river. So not only does the app actually work and get gamers to leave the house, but it also helped find the body of a missing person. Who knows what Pokémon GO will hold in store for us next.

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Rick and Morty is an Adult Swim cartoon that takes the viewers dimension hopping along side the two characters that the show is named after. Rick Sanchez is an alcoholic scientist and his 14-year-old grandson is named Morty Smith. The show itself is whacky with its bright color scheme and the shrieking voices of the two main characters. But, it uses science in order for the characters to enter alternate realties and it accurately depicts the amount of stress teenagers have to deal with, which is why people admire it so much.

Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, the creators of Rick and Morty, originally had the show start off as an animated short called “The Adventures of Doc and Mharti.” The clip was obviously a spoof of one of the most iconic movies from the 80’s, Back To The Future. (Incase you haven’t heard of the movie, which I doubt but I’ll explain it anyways; Back To The Future is the first movie of the trilogy and it jumps into the life of Marty McFly and Doctor Emmett Brown as they screw up time and then attempt to fix everything.)

Okay so back on topic– Adult Swim offered the two of them the chance of their very own show, so Roiland and Harmon grabbed their weirdly designed spoofy characters from the short and rolled with it. Doc Brown and Marty McFly from the clip had a slight change in costume design and had their names switched to Rick and Morty. Even though Roiland and Harmon basically stole the characters from the movie, they gave a missing link that Back To The Future did not provide. The movie never explains the relationship between the Doc and Marty. Are they Uncle and nephew? Teacher and student? We never find out. All that we can figure out is that they’re friends. Whereas the relationship between Rick and Morty is stated that they are grandfather and grandson.

Rick and Morty first aired on December 2nd, 2013, and its popularity has continued to grow ever since. So as a “thank you,” the creators decided to give back to the fans.

Pocket Mortys, which is a spoof of Pocket Monsters, was released 3 days ago and made it’s way to the featured page on the app store. Pocket Monsters is a manga about a young boy named Red who goes on adventures to collect these monsters that roam the region. This 14 volume series transformed into the now more widely known Pokémon franchise. Pokémon is the overall name for these creatures that get captured by humans. Pokémon trainers train their Pokémon to battle against other Pokémon that were captured by other trainers. The whole point of the game is to collect all the Pokémon and defeat all of the gym leaders in order to get all eight badges. The Pokémon franchise includes mangas, movies, TV shows, a musical, trading cards and video games.

Pocket Mortys is the exact same concept as Pocket Monsters/Pokémon. Rick is the “Morty trainer” that collects Mortys and Morty is the Pokémon. In the app, Morty says on multiple occasions throughout the battles against the other Mortys “Isn’t this a bit cruel?” This line refers to the people who sent complaints to Game Freak Inc., the Japanese video-game developers responsible for the Pokémon games, ranting about how Pokémon is a violent game that encourage kids to abuse animals. Personally, I love Pokémon so I don’t really see an issue with it but if kids are learning how to abuse animals through these games, then the parents of those children need to have a serious talk with their kids about the fictional worlds vs the real world. The people who claimed Pokémon as “violent” probably view Pocket Mortys as “Fight Club The Video-Game.”

I haven’t completed Pocket Mortys yet, so that’s all the news I have on the app for right now. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the game as much as I do~

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