Listen closely, and you might still be able to hear it—a rousing 8-bit chiptune chirping out the first call to adventure for a generation, a challenge to catch them all and be the very best, like no one ever was. That’s right—2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Pokémon, which debuted on Nintendo’s original Game Boy handheld back in 1996 with the Japanese launch of Pocket Monsters Red and Green. While the series wouldn’t make its global debut for another two years as Pokémon Red and Blue—an updated version of Green—it was already on its way to becoming the most successful media product in history. With Pokémon now bigger than Mickey Mouse and Star Wars—combined—it’s little surprise that when the Pokémon Company announced a range of exclusive merchandise to mark the anniversary—for Japan only at the time—it immediately sold out. Things were so bad at one point that there were multi-hour waits to load the official website. Thankfully, the 30th celebrations are no longer restricted to Pokémon’s homeland, nor to Nintendo and the Pokémon Company’s offerings. As the year …