Evolution: Pokémon at 30 · Exe.Eyes Labs

In 1990, a boy from Machida who collected insects saw two Game Boys joined by a cable.

He imagined creatures crossing it, from one player to the other.

Six years later, on 27 February 1996, they arrived.

1996–2026

Evolution

Thirty years of Pokémon, played on the screens it lived on.

Scroll

I · 1990 · Machida, Tokyo

Made to be traded.

Satoshi Tajiri’s friends called him Dr. Bug. Game Freak spent six years turning his idea into Pocket Monsters Red and Green.

⇢Drag Pikachu across the cable

Choose your partner

◀▶on the d-pad, or click a card

01 / 06Generation I

1996

Red & Green

Console: Game Boy
Screen: 160 × 144
Region: Kanto
Pokédex: 151

◀ ▶walkAjumpBcrydragturn it over

2026 · Thirty years of one partner

Thirty years of one Charmander.

II · The Vault

Twelve cards that made thirty years.

Illustrator
Set

◀ ▶browseclickhold it to the light

III · 30th Celebration

Thirty Pikachu, by thirty illustrators.

Every booster of the 30th Celebration holds one of them. Each was drawn by a different hand, from Ken Sugimori to Atsuko Nishida.

Hover a card for its artist · open it to look closer

IV · A game for the road

Who’s that Pokémon?

Kanto’s 151 · score 0

V · Why thirty matters

85 billion cards85 billion cards85 billion cards

480 million games480 million games480 million games

1,025 Pokémon1,025 Pokémon1,025 Pokémon

It began as a game about trading with a friend. Thirty years on, it is the highest-grossing media franchise there is.

Cards printed to March 2026 and games shipped: The Pokémon Company.

VI · Every one of them

0

Next: Pokémon Winds and Waves, the tenth generation, on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027.

Pokémon in thirty years · seen 0 · click one for its entry

VII · Exe.Eyes was caught

Hire
Exe.Eyes.

Name: You
Time: 0:00
Pokédex: 0 seen
Quiz: 0
Secrets: 0 / 4
Regions

Thirty years of craft, caught in one page.

Start a project