The world celebrates thirty Years of Pokémon, and its Universe Keeps Expanding.

As the world celebrates 30 years of Pokémon, the trailblazing popular culture icon is enjoying another standout year. With a wide-ranging programme of vibrant activity across its multi-faceted universe Pokémon has continued to connect with and delight its diverse fanbase around the globe.

Europe remains a key focus for Pokémon, with the brand enjoying record-breaking retail growth across the continent. Its popularity in Italy continues to surge, as it maintained its position there as Circana’s No. 1 toy property with incredible 70% growth year on year, while in Spain it reached a record high of No. 3 and won the Best Digital Property Award at the LICENCIAS Actualidad Awards.

This success has been inspired by and recognised with a host of special promotions and collaborations to excite fans in the territories. Circana’s Global Top Toy Property of the Year, Pokémon’s exceptional range of toys, games and collectibles – which offers something for everyone, whatever their age, across all lines and price points – is proving popular.

A particular favourite in Italy is the new Pikachu Puppetronic from WOW! Stuff, which is available in Toy Centre Stores from Prenatal Italy, and also in some independent stores. A truly remarkable RealFX model which brings this iconic character to fans like never before, it comes with over 120 sounds and actions, and delivers an immersive array of features packed with charm and authenticity, such as a realistic moving mouth, blinking eyes, expressive dual-motion ears and glowing cheeks which combine to make Pikachu feel less like a figure and more like a friend.

Both Italy and Pokémon are synonymous with fashion and Pokémon has teamed up once more with exciting Italian designers Dolly Noire.

A hugely successful collection with a focus on Pixel art dropped in April, followed in July by a capsule collection inspired by the Legendary and Mythical Pokémon of the Sinnoh Region. Clean silhouettes, balanced between monochrome and colour, light and shadow, feature across t-shirts, shorts and hoodies. Acid washes introduce subtle variation across pieces, while embroideries reference iconic elements, and graphic patterns add texture and depth in a modern way.

For kids, a new boys’ collection recently launched at Original Marines stores following on from the girls collection that launched in April.

Casa Optima’s Pokémon-themed ice creams continue to delight fans across Italy and Spain, with the third flavour, a Jigglypuff-inspired strawberry-donut flavour topped with crunchy meringue, launched earlier this year with a special 2D magnet gadget promotion, featuring fan favourite Pokémon characters.

Further activity in Spain has seen CYP expand their range with new 3D backpacks designed for older fans which complements their existing BTS products, lunchware from STOR, and retail partnerships with El Corte Inglés, and Carrefour.

Jazwares’ award-winning range is available in both countries as well as across the rest of Europe, and fans have been enjoying new launches including the Battle Action Pikachu, an interactive 12” figure with over 100 reactions, sounds, touch sensors and a light-up tail attack, as well as Pokémon Battle Disc Showdown, a new fast-paced arena game, and the Pokémon Squish-a-Longs Playsets.

A special range of figures and plush created in celebration of 30 years of Pokémon has also been proving popular, while a truly fabulous collectible plush arrived in the shape of the Steiff x Pokémon Edition Pikachu. The plush is constructed from the finest yellow mohair and limited to 1996 pieces, a tribute to the year Pokémon was created.

Following the remarkable response to the first LEGO® Pokémon™ adults sets launched earlier this year, August saw the release of three new sets featuring iconic Pokémon, including Arcanine, Rayquaza and Munchlax, as well as the announcement of LEGO Pokémon minifigures and the new LEGO® Pokémon™ Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball, featuring for the first time three Pokémon Trainer minifigures and figures for Pikachu and Eevee.

And fans can dive into interactive screen-free play with 12 new LEGO® Pokémon™ SMART Play™ interactive sets for children. Fan-favourites Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Eevee, Mew play back and fans can unlock new ways to bond, train, nurture and battle through LEGO® SMART Play™.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) was named Toy of the Year 2025 at January’s Toy Industry. Exciting new expansions include the 30th Celebration, which contains all foil cards and introduces an all-new card rarity, Futuristic rare, featuring new visuals illustrated by the renowned Japanese artist YOSHIROTTEN.

Pokémon video games continue to innovate, with new titles, content and in-game experiences across the year. Popular battle-focused game Pokémon Champions is now available for free download on mobile devices in addition to the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 consoles, and cosy world-building adventure Pokémon Pokopia recently added an underwater town as part of the Expansion Pass—Part 1: Bubbly Basin for Nintendo Switch 2.

Fans are eagerly awaiting Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves – all-new entries in the Pokémon video game series, due for release exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 in a simultaneous worldwide launch in 2027. These stunning new titles feature an open world to explore, with beautiful windswept islands and a vast ocean with glittering waves that ebb and flow.

This October, iconic Polaroid cameras take the shape of beloved Pokémon as the two renowned brands team up for a limited-edition collection of cameras, film and accessories. The new Polaroid x Pokémon Special Edition range includes the Special Edition Now Gen 3 in a Poké Ball design and Special Edition Go Gen 3 cameras in Pikachu and Sylveon designs; Special Edition film with Pokémon frames; and playful accessories including a camera case, photo album and camera strap.

Another fabulous fashion collaboration, the Pokémon x JimmyPaul by Difuzed collection, launched at London Fashion Week featuring iconic Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto region. A ready-to-wear collection was created alongside in collaboration with renowned licensee company Difuzed, translating key visual elements from the catwalk into wearable, consumer-facing pieces designed to extend the world of Roam beyond the runway.

A new Kellogg’s Pokémon chocolate flavour breakfast cereal in four different box designs features fan-favourite characters Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.

This year has also seen increased focus on innovative collaborations and partnerships that engage fans in new ways – such as the recent pop up with the Natural History Museum, whose Cranbourne Boutique was transformed into a stylish Pokémon experience with product that included exclusive items designed especially for the collaboration. A huge success, it was extended twice from its start in January right through the summer.

This year also saw a brand-new UK partnership for Pokémon, with the National Trust, with exclusive Pokémon Trading Card Game Mega Evolution Trails bringing Pokémon’s world of play, creativity and imagination to NT sites across England and Wales at May half-term and across the summer, along with fun Pokémon challenges at 27 Summer of Play places.

Another exciting partnership saw Pokémon team up with the European Space Agency (ESA) to celebrate World Space Week (4-10 October). Both organisations are united by curiosity, exploration and imagination and this educational collaboration aimed to open a new frontier for audiences of all ages, using Pokémon storytelling to make the wonder of space more accessible and engaging.

Renowned animation company Aardman is another thrilling new collaboration which is producing Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu. A funny, heartfelt odd-couple story, it brings Aardman’s signature stop-motion artistry with a bold, playful new perspective to the beloved world of Pokémon, giving audiences a fresh way to experience the characters they know and love.

The series, comprising 21 x 7’ episodes, will premiere in 2027 on Disney+ – the exclusive worldwide streaming home for the series – which also recently welcomed Pokémon the Series: The Beginning for the first time, to become a real home for Pokémon. The close connection with fans through Play! Pokémon events, major championships and Pokémon GO events has been especially dynamic this year with a host of special events.

The 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco were made even more special with the introduction of PokémonXP, a fan convention held alongside the event. Together, they welcomed more than 50,000 fans for a fabulous weekend of partner activations, parades, workshops, panels, live performances, special guests and the Pokémon Center store.

In another first, Pokémon will step into the live music spotlight this autumn with Pokémon Night Out, headlined by world-renowned artists Marshmello and Alison Wonderland. Combining bespoke performances, exclusive visuals and innovative stage technology, the event will bring Pokémon and dance music together for fans at The O2 in London on 10 November, following a sold-out show at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on 24 October.

A host of interactive, family-friendly Pokémon Day Out experiences across the summer offered joyful, interactive daytime adventures with favourite Pokémon pals in Bordeaux, France; New York City, USA; Dresden, Germany; and Mexico City, Mexico. As Pokémon works to keep connecting with fans however, wherever and whenever they choose, in innovative and creative ways, there is plenty more in the pipeline to round off the 30-year celebrations in style and set the scene set for a spectacular 2027!