The Japanese brand has become one of the most recognisable in the world, with its colourful creatures appearing in video games and on shop shelves across the globe.
But perhaps most synonymous with the Pokémon phenomenon is its trading card game, which has been played, bought and sold between collectors for the last three decades.
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which → become → decades
Wednesday marks the release of Pokémon's 30th anniversary range - a day one collector described as the brand's biggest day "in the last decade, if not more".
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collector → mark → decade
Gus Hall, owner of Evolution Games in Halifax, said he expected fans to queue before shops open to get their hands on the first release of the cards.
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shops → say → cards
A long-term Pokémon collector himself, Hall said he was "massively excited" about the anniversary range.
"
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he → say → range
If you want my personal opinion, I would say this is the biggest release for a good while for Pokémon.
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this → want → Pokémon
Some of the products and the cards they've leaked... are crazy," he said.
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he → leak → products
Pokémon's popularity has exploded over the years, with some cards originally worth just a few pounds now selling for eye-watering amounts.
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cards → explode → amounts
Hall said a box that may have been worth £200 in the late 1990s would now sell for about £35,000.
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that → say → 35,000
As a child, Hall would spend about £1.99 of his pocket money on a new Pokémon card.
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Hall → spend → card
His parents would "go ballistic" at him for what they believed was a waste of money.
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they → go → money
He said: "They'd say to me: 'Why are you wasting your money on these types of things?'…
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you → say → things
Now I get the exact same from parents who come into my store and say to their children: 'Why are you wasting your money on these [cards]?'…
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you → get → cards
But, you know, look who's laughing now!"
But what has made these cards so popular - and so valuable?
"Pokémon is different to other things in society these days - there's nothing electronic in trading cards," Hall said.
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Hall → know → cards
"Parents quite like it because it's healthy; it creates friendships and trading and gaming, and incorporates all these wonderful things that aren't detrimental to a child or young person's mind."
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that → like → mind
Hall said the satisfaction of collecting a set and "chasing certain cards" in that set was a huge part of the enjoyment, and described the moment of pulling the desired card as "euphoric".
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satisfaction → say → card
Phoebe Watson, an employee at Evolution Games, has been collecting Pokémon cards for the last 20 years.
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Watson → collect → years
She said she was "super excited" for the first release of the anniversary range and was hoping to secure some of the cards, which feature some of her favourite Pokémons.
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which → say → Pokémons
But Watson is realistic - she expects the first release to sell out quickly.
"
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release → expect → ?
It is going to be big.
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It → go → ?
We get collectors in every single day, multiple times a day, and I've had hundreds of people ask me: 'When is the set dropping? Do you know how much you're getting?'."
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you → get → much
Drew Emerson, one of Europe's top Pokémon players, told BBC Radio Sheffield he had "travelled all over the world" playing the trading card game.
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he → tell → game
Emerson said it was going to be "very, very difficult" to secure the anniversary cards on first release, but added the collection was "very, very exciting".
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collection → say → release
Pokémon is reprinting old, rare cards, Emerson said, and he was "most looking forward" to the release of a Crystal Lugia card.
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he → reprint → card
A brief history of Pokémon
Pokémon, originally called Pocket Monsters, began as a game released for the Nintendo Gameboy in Japan in 1996.
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history → call → 1996
Millions of copies were sold worldwide and the name was eventually shortened to Pokémon.
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name → sell → Pokémon
Following the success of the first games, a company called Media Factory released the Pokémon Trading Card Game in October that year.
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company → follow → October
Like the game, the cards exploded in popularity.
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cards → explode → popularity
Since then, more than 85 billion cards have been produced, a world championship tournament established, and an ultra-rare card sold for $16.5m (£12m).
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card → produce → m
'Guilty pleasure'
Lee Glen, owner of trading card stores Rocket's Hideout in York and Selby, said Pokémon cards had "exploded" in the last five years, which he largely attributed to the hobby being "multi-generational".
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hobby → say → which
"I got back into collecting five years ago with my son.
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I → get → son
It was something nostalgic that I used to do, and then got back into it with my son…
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I → use → son
You have sons, daughters, mums, everyone - and they can do it together," Glen said.
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Glen → have → it
He said Pokémon was "constantly reinventing" products, and was "really good at bringing people back in".
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Pokémon → say → people
Glen's York store is usually closed on Wednesdays, but it will open specially for the first release, when Glen too expects customers to flock to York to get their hands on the stock.
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customers → close → stock
Among those hoping to secure some anniversary cards is 21-year-old Grace Orton, who said she was willing to queue up to get her hands on them.
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she → hop → them
"I'll definitely be trying at some point to get some. I know it'll be really difficult if I'm not [at a shop] immediately", Orton said.
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Orton → try → shop
Despite only starting her Pokémon card collection three years ago, Orton said she was "looking to spend quite a bit of money, unfortunately" on the anniversary range.
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she → start → range
She said: "It's such a big, sought-after set.
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It → say → ?
A lot of the artwork is really nice; I really want some of it for my personal collection."
Another Pokémon fanatic, Ash Mehr, said he started collecting the cards between 20 and 30 years ago.
After a brief hiatus, Mehr began his collection once again after his son took an interest in Pokémon.
He said: "I feel like I'm sort of dragging my son to these events to try and get the cards, but really it's a little bit of a guilty pleasure of mine!
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it → want → mine
But hopefully, we'll get a good haul and get some good pulls [from the anniversary range]".
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we → get → range
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
