If you were a kid growing up in the mid-to-late nineties, all the way to if you’re a kid growing up right now, there’s no doubt Pokémon played somewhat of a part in your childhood. You didn’t have to ever like Pokémon, play any of the games or watch the anime, but chances are you once owned something related to it. A single Pokémon card your friend gave you, a tiny figurine you somehow got your hands on, Pokémon was, and still is, unavoidable. The popularity of trading Pokémon cards with your friends on the playground, or talking about which Pokémon you would own in real life. These activities were classic parts of my elementary school experience, and I have no doubt that those same activities will be played years and years into the future. With how much Pokémon has become a staple of childhood, it’s hard to believe it didn’t exist until 30 years ago.

“Pokémon Red and Green” were released in Japan on February 27th, 1996. The games were later released in North America in September of 1998, renamed “Pokémon Red and Blue” (as Blue is much more American than Green!) The option of two games, Red or Blue, already offers a choice for buyers to make. When you boot up the game and are welcomed to the world of Pokémon by Professor Oak, you are asked to make another choice, will your first Pokémon be the grass-type Bulbasaur, the fire-type Charmander, or the water-type Squirtle? 

Something that makes Pokémon so special is how much of your journey you get to choose. The original game has 151 Pokémon in it, so there’s no doubt practically every person who plays the game will end up choosing a different set of six Pokémon to collect and beat the game with. The six Pokémon someone ends their team with says a lot about a person: do they want a team of only the strongest Pokémon? Do they choose Pokémon based only on their looks? Do they prefer cute or cool Pokémon, or do they have a mixture of both? No matter how different a person’s Pokémon team is, they’ll generally always have their starter on their team, their first Pokémon, showing how much of a bond a person can grow for the digital best friend they chose at the beginning of the game, having evolved alongside you on your quest to become the very best like no one ever was.

Though the Pokémon aren’t the only things that evolved, as the Pokémon franchise soon became so much more than a video game series. The Pokémon Trading Card Game and the Pokémon anime are iconic, and there’s an argument to be made that they may be even more important to the franchise than the games. While the games are exclusive to expensive Nintendo consoles, anyone can buy a small pack of Pokémon cards, or catch an episode of the anime on TV. 

Back in 2016, the mobile game “Pokémon Go” once again introduced Pokémon to a huge audience of people, letting anyone catch Pokémon in the real world using their phone. You really had to be there to understand just how big of an impact “Pokémon Go” made in the summer of 2016, and it’s still popular to this day.

But while the games, the cards, and the anime all have contributed to Pokémon’s 30-year legacy, I’d argue the real appeal to Pokémon comes from the Pokémon themselves. Back when “Pokémon Red and Green/Blue” was released, there were different options on who the Pokémon mascot would be. Would it be the blue swirly frog Poliwhirl, or the pink lovable starfaring Clefairy, but there’s one Pokémon who stole the show. Pikachu is a cute, chubby mouse Pokémon with electric powers, and is the perfect choice for Pokémon’s mascot. He’s bright yellow, an eye-catching color that stands out among the army of other Pokémon. Pikachu is a cute character, but he’s also strong, being able to shoot huge bolts of electricity out of his cheeks, he appeals to everyone. Pikachu really is a perfect representation of Pokémon.

While Pikachu appeals to everyone, I think another thing that makes Pokémon so special is how every single Pokémon design appeals to somebody. Shroomish, Gastrodon, Carbink, Grapploct, every random Pokémon is so unique to one another, but each of them have an undeniable appeal. The design philosophy of Pokémon has always been that every single Pokémon has to look like it could be somebody’s friend, and I think that holds true. Even the ferocious Garchomp, the masculine Conkeldurr, or the very strange Blacephalon, have an endearingness to them, and a certain friendliness, even if it’s hard to find.

There are so many Pokémon out there—as of generation 9, 1025 of them—and that means when it comes to who your favorite is, there are 1025 Pokémon to choose from. Everyone has a favorite Pokémon, and every Pokémon is somebody’s favorite. The reason Pokémon has been around for thirty years, is because despite there being so many Pokémon, every creature is so lovable. Pokémon’s appeal is choice, deciding which edition of the game to get, choosing your starter, deciding who to put on your team, but most importantly, the choice of who your favorite Pokémon is. Even if you don’t think you have a favorite Pokémon, I’m sure at least one of the 1025 Pokémon will appeal to you specifically, and if not, there’s only gonna be more and more creatures added to the series as time goes on.

 I have no doubt that Pokémon will go on for the centuries to come, cards will still be traded on the playground, Pokémon battles will still be played, and there will always be more Pokémon created, each being somebody’s favorite.