On Pokémon's 30th anniversary, game devs reflect on the series' impact on their life and work

In the 30 years since it took pop culture by storm back in 1996, Pokémon remains one of the world’s most popular franchises — and the phenomenon shows no signs of slowing. According to the analyst team at Gamesight, Pokémon gaming content has generated over 1.4 billion hours of live viewership across Twitch and YouTube since 2018, while more than 3.6 million Pokémon YouTube videos have accumulated over 66 billion total views. In every single month of the last eight years, Pokémon has never dipped below 1.5 million hours of live content watched. It’s a fandom that doesn’t have sleepy seasons and transcends generations.

Pokémon’s influence on modern gaming is ubiquitous and undeniable. That’s because plenty of the folks who make the games you love today (and the games you’ll love tomorrow!) grew up playing Pokémon, too. We spoke with eight game developers from a variety of studios about their favorite memories of the series — and how Pokémon has shaped the work they do every day.

The responses below have been edited for clarity and brevity.

What’s your favorite memory of the Pokémon games?

Miles Winzeler, senior producer at Obsidian Entertainment (Grounded 2)

Stumbling into the Power Plant early on in Pokémon Red with my sister, nervously trading the Game Boy back and forth as we egged each other on to venture further inside despite being clueless, ill-prepared, and feeling progressively out of our depth — yet somehow, despite all odds, catching Zapdos.

Hannah Corcoran, producer at Auroch Digital (Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2)

Pokémon absolutely floods my childhood memories. I even had a Pokémon-themed bedroom! It was a massive part of how my brother and I bonded growing up; a favorite memory is how on long car rides we would link our Game Boys together in the backseats, trying our best to use the passing glow of streetlights to see without the help of a backlit screen.

It has inspired me creatively too. In high school, I was always drawing Pokémon and sketching me and my friends as trainers, and my first ever cosplay was a Team Rocket grunt. When moving out of home to university, I made sure to bring my plushies and Pokédex to help me overcome social anxiety and make new likeminded friends.

Lucas Gullbo, game developer and co-founder at Something We Made (Toem 2)

Pokémon has been a part of my life since the very beginning and, funnily enough, I turn 30 this year as well! I grew up with the series, watching the animated series on morning TV, collecting the cards, and eventually got to play my very first game in the series, Pokémon Gold.

I think back to that first time playing as a kid and the shock I got when I first encountered Lapras hidden away inside Union Cave. At the time, I didn’t realize how lucky my timing must have been, since I’m pretty sure the Lapras is only there on Fridays and I had explored the caves prior to this without seeing it.

My encounter with that Lapras is most likely a strong reason for my love of adventure and exploration in games. I’ve always loved finding those nooks and crannies, and even though they are meant to be found, you still end up feeling like you’re the first one to discover them.

Christopher J. Martínez, technical artist at Undercoders (Denshattack!)

I remember growing up playing the fifth generation a lot. Those were my Pokémon games. One of my favorite memories was being able to take part in a Pokémon event for the first time, the Victini event. I remember it was my birthday, and my parents gave me Pokémon White Version. Just a few days earlier, I had bought Nintendo Acción (a national magazine), which happened to feature the event. I remember playing nonstop all night to reach Castelia City, take part in the event, and capture what was, at the time, my first Legendary Pokémon. I completed the game with that Victini on my team. I named him “Tiny.”

As a kid, there was a real sense of wonder in experiencing those events and talking about them with your friends. I miss the mysticism that used to surround them.

Hector M. Padilla, art director at Jackbox Games (Legends of Trivia)

Back in the day, there was a playground legend about “Crystal Onix” — an Onix made entirely of glass-like crystal. It was canon in the Pokémon anime, and my friends spread rumors that it could be obtained in the games too (not true, by the way). But during my playthrough of Pokémon Silver, I encountered and caught a shiny Onix. It was a putrid, puke-colored green, and I didn’t even know shiny Pokémon existed yet. So naturally, I became convinced that I owned the only game cartridge in the world that somehow contained the data for Crystal Onix. It's very cute in retrospect.

Alyssa Lutz, senior level designer at Squanch Games (High on Life 2)

Learning how to read! Pokémon Red was one of the first video games I ever played on the Game Boy Color and I was still learning how to read. I had no clue what a parcel was, so my cousin always had to help me understand I needed to deliver a package to Professor Oak. I learned all sorts of words — potion, antidote, ether, paralyze, etc. There were so many complex words I knew at a younger age all because of my drive to play Pokémon and understand what I was doing to beat the Elite Four!

Matthew Jackson, co-founder at Toot Games (My Arms Are Longer Now)

Now, this is a bit of a shameful memory that maybe I shouldn’t admit to the press… but I was overwriting my older brother’s save file so I could start a new game in Pokémon Sapphire. Yes, he had caught every Pokémon on that save. I am sorry, Dan.

Hassan DuRant, narrative designer and writer, Outerloop Games (Dosa Divas)

It was difficult, as a five-year-old, adjusting to kindergarten during a divorce. One day, I was playing alone with a set of green blocks when a boy near me shouted “Are you making a Caterpie???” I thought the poor kid didn’t know how to say “Caterpillar.” But then he talked to me all day long about how I just had to get a see-through purple Game Boy and had to get Pokémon and had to play with him.

A month later, I showed up to my first friend’s house with my see-through purple Game Boy and my copy of Pokémon Yellow. Throughout elementary school, it was always Pokémon bringing me closer to other kids.

I was a retired trainer until 2024, when I found my old Pokémon handbook and decided to replay my favorite: Pokémon Crystal. When I got to the famous Kanto section, something welled up in me. I know those streets. I lived there! In the trainers I fought, I could see the faces of the real-life friends I made through the years. Bailey. Christopher. Ron. Ian, Jon-Paul, Chance, Junpei, Thalles, Thiago, Victor: I did my best. I have no regrets! Let’s catch Pokémon together again someday.

How has the series influenced the work you do in the games industry?

Miles Winzeler, senior producer at Obsidian Entertainment (Grounded 2)

The mainline Pokémon RPGs were the first games that made me curious about how, why, and to what extent parts of gameplay systems are intentionally hidden from players: some pieces are explicit (ex. type advantages, “it’s super effective!”); some pieces are for the player to learn about through in-game sources and experimentation (ex. natures, unconventional evolution methods); and some pieces are nearly invisible and only for the most hardcore, analytical players to pore over (ex. IVs, EVs). Keeping systems simple and enticing enough to get a player through the door without overwhelming them, while keeping layers of depth just out of sight for them to dig into at their own pace is a principle I check back in with constantly.

For a more literal example, when concepting the process of hunting down a Buggy egg (which the player can hatch into a companion creature) for Grounded 2, the journey of heading into a challenging cave to catch a legendary Pokémon was one of our reference points for the mix of curiosity, tension, and reward we wanted players to experience.

Hannah Corcoran, producer at Auroch Digital (Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2)

I love how Pokémon continues to evolve (pun intended), showing how iteration and reinterpretation can keep an idea fresh while respecting its roots. It's my job to focus on how the different disciplines and game devs involved in game production must come together to build something that speaks to and connects with players, and it's always inspiring to see the incredible Pokémon fan creations and communities online. It reinforces for me that when you build something meaningful, communities will carry it forward.

Lucas Gullbo, game developer and co-founder at Something We Made (Toem 2)

One of the things I’ve always appreciated with Pokémon is the design and theming that goes into each creature, what the different evolved stages represent and the amount of variety there is in their concepts.

I think about the usage of theming a lot whenever I start concepting a character and scouting for references. Is there some sort of behaviour/history/science that can be represented in my designs and how would this merge work? I don’t believe that the theming has to be taken too seriously and a concept and idea is good enough to establish a path forward. I think it’s more about the care that goes into it and what then ends up becoming a nod to the original reference.

Christopher J. Martínez, technical artist at Undercoders (Denshattack!)

Playing Pokémon was more than just battling and collecting, for many of us, it was our first exposure to stylized visual effects. Watching attacks like Flamethrower or Thunderbolt explode across the screen sparked a sense of awe and introduced core ideas of impact, timing, color, and motion. Game Freak has a unique talent for making attacks feel powerful, even within technical limits. Through anticipation, strong silhouettes, bold colors, and punchy timing, their moves always felt impactful and memorable. Because of this, I think that Pokémon has influenced entire generations of VFX artists. It’s almost impossible to talk about stylized effect animation without, in some way, referencing the visual language that they helped popularize.

Hector M. Padilla, art director at Jackbox Games (Legends of Trivia)

Pokémon isn’t just an influence on my art, it’s the influence. I pull inspiration from a lot of different places, but Pokémon has had the biggest impact on my style as a game artist. I usually joke that I graduated from the unofficial Ken Sugimori School of Art because I’ve been drawing Pokémon for as long as I can remember. It taught me shape language, color theory, stylish linework, and appealing character design. Even now, I still make Pokémon fan art and design my own original creatures partially as a creative design exercise, but mostly as pure self-indulgence.

Alyssa Lutz, senior level designer at Squanch Games (High on Life 2)

I have definitely visited the Pokémon combat formula when discussing FPS combat design at various studios. Both Doom and Pokémon typing come up during various design discussions, and I've seen studios often go with a hybrid of these to implement in their combat loop. While Pokémon typing can seem simple on the surface, it makes for a great combat loop and introduces weaknesses, strengths, status effects, etc. For example, if you have a game where different weapons have different element damage types, a Pokémon typing mechanic is an easy, straightforward way to encourage players to swap between weapons and use all the tools at their disposal. It helps players remain engaged in the combat and always thinking through changing strategies on the fly.

Matthew Jackson, co-founder at Toot Games (My Arms Are Longer Now)

Pokemon’s influence on my work (and the work of other dev’s at Toot Games) has been in the way that it introduces weird/absurd elements in an otherwise normal world.

Hassan DuRant, narrative designer and writer, Outerloop Games (Dosa Divas)

Pokémon opened my eyes to the power of the mundane. In Gen 2, you could always call home and your mother would be there to help you. It’s a mechanic that has nothing to do with catching or raising Pokémon; a mundane touch that adds character to the game and highlights the scale of your journey by reminding you there’s someone who misses you.

Or the fact that Gen 1’s most daunting dungeon isn’t a dungeon at all, but a corporate office building. A radio tower, a museum, a train station, a department store — any place can be interesting, and juxtaposing the mundane with the fantastic can elevate both. Thinking about the world in that way inspired my high-school RPG Maker project about lost and abandoned pets trying to find their way home, and that project is a major reason why I’m a game developer in the first place.