In the 24 years since Pokémon first debuted in Japan, it has grown to be the second best-selling video game franchise of all time. 

Pokémon is the prime example of a series with no age limit. Adults and kids alike play the games and watch the anime, and have for years. 

“As young as I can remember I was playing Pokémon,” Grant Bielecki, a sophomore in chemical engineering and treasurer of the Iowa State Pokémon Club, said. “Even when I couldn’t read and couldn’t get past the second town. I’ve been playing it my whole life.”

Pokémon “Red” and “Green” versions first came to the Nintendo Game Boy console on Feb. 27, 1996, with the “Pokémon Trading Card Game” debuting later that year on Oct. 20. The same-titled anime series debuted a little over a year later on April 1, 1997. Neither the video games nor the anime came to America until 1998, with the release of Pokémon “Red” and “Blue” for the Game Boy. 

Pokémon is a series that never grows old. The constant development of new games and remasters of old games keep both long-term and newer fans excited. In addition to well-known merchandise such as the video games and plushies, there are also rare products that only few collectors are lucky enough to get their hands on.

“We usually have about twenty people regularly show up to the Pokémon Club,” Bielecki said. “I was surprised to find anyone in our group even had the boardgames.”

The Iowa State Pokémon Club meets at 6 p.m. every Tuesday in 0196 Carver. Fans of Pokémon gather to talk about the franchise, battle each other’s Pokémon, play Pokémon-based board games and participate in themed “Kahoot!” questions. 

“What we do depends on the day,” Bielecki said. “We like to battle each other on an online simulator called ‘Pokémon Showdown.'”

Whether prospective club members are long-term fans or have even a slight interest in Pokémon, anyone is welcome to join the Pokémon club.

“We aren’t an exclusive group by any means,” Bielecki said. “Whether fans only play “Pokémon GO,” just got into Pokémon because of the recent Switch releases, or have been playing the games since they were three, we are happy to have anyone drop in.”

Joining clubs is a great way to expand one’s friend group in general, but the Pokémon club goes beyond that.

“My friend group has grown immensely since being part of the club,” Bielecki said. “Especially with our draft league where 16 of us draft ten separate Pokémon and have a round-robin tournament throughout the semester with each other. This has allowed us to meet a lot of great people, and we have a discord server that’s very active.”

Since coming to North America, Pokémon’s popularity has grown exponentially. Due to this series being popular in the video game, television, film, merchandising and card game markets, it has had a significant impact on the entertainment business.

“To the gaming community, now that the Switch is out, so many people got ‘Sword and Shield,'” said Bielecki. “It just started spreading out. When it came out, so many role playing games followed the same structure.”

The newest iteration in the Pokémon series is “Pokémon Home.” This unique feature is a downloadable cloud exclusive for the Nintendo Switch. Through linking players’ Nintendo accounts to both their Switch and mobile device, such as through “Pokémon GO,” the same Pokémon will become accessible on both consoles. This allows players to move Pokémon between compatible games and trade Pokémon on-the-go. 

“Pokémon Home” is currently available for download on the Nintendo Switch.