This year\u2019s Pokemon Day, which falls on February 27, also marks the 30th anniversary of the internationally known and loved multimedia franchise.<\/p>\n
Helmed by the determined and compassionate Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum and his loyal but stubborn \u201cpocket monster\u201d partner Pikachu, this Japanese IP has spawned a huge range of anime series, movies, video games and merchandise.<\/p>\n
The now multibillion-dollar franchise began life as a role-playing video game series created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy handheld console. The first Pokemon titles \u2013 Pocket Monsters Red<\/em> and Pocket Monsters Green<\/em> \u2013 were released by Nintendo in Japan on February 27, 1996, followed later that year by Pocket Monsters Blue<\/em> in October.<\/p>\n Inspired by his childhood pastime of collecting insects in suburban Tokyo, Tajiri designed the games to recreate the childlike joy of exploring nature and interacting with bugs. The idea is to complete the \u201cPokedex\u201d and, just as the games\u2019 tagline says: \u201cGotta Catch \u2019em All!\u201d<\/p>\n The games were adapted into the Pokemon Trading Card Game in October the same year, while the Pokemon Pocket Monsters<\/em> manga followed in November.<\/p>\n The first episode of the Pokemon<\/em> anime series aired on Japanese network television in April 1997 \u2013 the episode was titled \u201cPokemon, I Choose You!\u201d \u2013 while Pokemon: The First Movie<\/em> was released in July 1998.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Collectors](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/02\/26\/e9e21f18-4070-4c66-b7a6-cc4aba0ae5fd_686e78c9.jpg\" "\\"Collectors")
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