BODY: Thirty years and 1,025 Pokémon later, there is finally a single book that holds them all. Publisher Overlap released the "Pokémon Official National Pokédex 1996–2026" today (August 7, 2026), a hardcover reference marking three decades since Pocket Monsters Red and Green first hit the Game Boy in 1996.
The volume catalogs every one of the 1,025 species currently registered in the National Pokédex, from Bulbasaur through the newest additions of the Generation IX era. For a franchise that has spent 30 years asking players to "catch 'em all," a complete printed census carries a certain symbolic weight.
Overlap paired the launch with a bigger announcement for collectors: a visual art book titled "Pocket Monsters Visual Art Book: 30th Anniversary Art Book of Pokémon Video Games developed by GAME FREAK." The three-volume set is scheduled for release on December 18, 2026, and promises to gather artwork spanning the entire history of Game Freak's mainline titles.
The pairing is deliberate. The Pokédex serves the completionist who wants data and stats on every creature, while the art book targets fans who care about the design lineage — the pencil sketches, promotional key art, and evolving visual language that turned a Game Boy RPG into a global phenomenon.
The insider take
The timing is telling. Anniversary years in Japan reliably trigger a wave of premium physical merchandise, and Pokémon — arguably the world's highest-grossing media franchise — treats its 30th as a landmark. Splitting the celebration into an affordable, all-in-one Pokédex now and a lavish three-volume art book for the December gift season is textbook Japanese publishing strategy: capture the mass-market reference buyer first, then court the dedicated collector ahead of the year-end and holiday shopping rush, when high-end game art books traditionally sell best here.
Originally reported by 4Gamer.net − 最新記事 (Japanese).