The Pokémon series began on Feb. 27, 1996, when “Pokémon Red” and “Pokémon Green” were released for the Nintendo Game Boy in Japan. American audiences would have to wait another year, however, and in 1998 “Pokémon Red” and “Pokémon Blue” were released in North America.

These games would set up the core gameplay loop of capturing, leveling up and battling Pokémon that the rest of the series would follow.

In 1998, “Pokémon Yellow” was released in Japan. This game would serve as an enhanced version of the previous games and would feature Pikachu as the only starter Pokémon, instead of Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle.

In 2004, remakes of “Pokémon Red” and “Pokémon Green,” titled “Pokémon FireRed” and “Pokémon LeafGreen” were released on the Game Boy Advance system.

In October 1996, the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) was launched. This game adopted the Pokémon battles from the video game into a deck-based card game. The card game was an instant hit. The success of the card game led to the development of several video games based on it.

Work on a Pokémon anime series began after the success of the Pokémon video games and trading card game. The show follows Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum and his journey to become a Pokémon Master. The show has been on the air for 22 seasons, with season 23 set to premiere on Nov. 17, 2019.

In July 1998, “Pokémon: The First Movie” premiered in Japan and was released internationally the following year. The film follows the adventures of Ash Ketchum and friends and is a continuation of the Pokémon anime series.

Critics in Japan gave the film positive reviews, but the reviews of the English dub were mostly negative. Despite this, the film was a box office success, earning $10 million on its opening day.

Since the release of this film, 21 additional animated films based on the Pokémon franchise have been released.

On Nov. 21, 1999, “Pokémon Gold” and “Pokémon Silver” were released for the Game Boy Color system.

These games added the second generation of Pokémon, which included 100 new Pokémon to collect and had many new features. Most notably was the addition of the PokéGear, which served as a map, phone, radio and watch for the player character.

In 2000, “Pokémon Crystal” was released. Similar to “Pokémon Yellow,” “Pokémon Crystal” was an enhanced version of the two prior games and is notable for being the first game in the series to allow the player to select a female character.

In 2009, remakes of this generation of games, “Pokémon HeartGold” and “Pokémon SoulSilver,” were released on the Nintendo DS.

Pokémon characters Pikachu and Jigglypuff are included as playable characters in the fighting game “Super Smash Bros.” for the Nintendo 64 console. The PokéBall was also featured in the game as a powerup and when thrown could summon one of 13 randomly selected Pokémon.

“Super Smash Bros.” would be the first of five games in the franchise and Pokémon characters have been featured in every game since.

On Feb. 29, 2000, “Pokémon Stadium” was released in North America for the Nintendo 64 system. As its name suggests, the game allowed players to fight Pokémon in stadium tournaments. The game featured Pokémon from the first generation and was the first game entry in the “Pokémon Stadium” spin-off series of games. Future entries in the “Pokémon Stadium” series would feature Pokémon from later generations.

On Nov. 21, 2002, “Pokémon Ruby” and “Pokémon Sapphire” were released for the Game Boy Advance console.

These games introduced the third generation of Pokémon and added 135 Pokémon to the franchise. These games were also the first to include double battles, where two Pokémon can be used at once.

In 2004, an enhanced version of the generation of games, “Pokémon Emerald,” was released.

Ten years later in 2014 remakes of “Pokémon Ruby” and “Pokémon Sapphire,” titled “Pokémon Omega Ruby” and “Pokémon Alpha Sapphire” were released for the Nintendo 3DS system.

PokéPark was a theme park based on the Pokémon franchise. The park featured 12 rides, an arcade, several shops and restaurants and even a kiosk to download the game “PokéPark: Fishing Rally” onto a Nintendo DS.

The park was open in Japan from March to September 2005 and later relocated and was open in Taiwan from June to September 2006.

On Sept. 28, 2006, “Pokémon Diamond” and “Pokémon Pearl” were released on the Nintendo DS, introducing the fourth generation of Pokémon, adding 107 new Pokémon. This game featured several minigames that made use of the Nintendo DS touch-screen.

An enhanced version of these games, “Pokémon Platinum,” was released in 2008. 

On Sep. 18, 2010, “Pokémon Black” and “Pokémon White” were released for the Nintendo DS system.

These games introduced the fifth generation of Pokémon, adding 156 Pokémon, and marked the first time two generations of Pokémon games were released on the same console.

Rather than release an enhanced version of the games, sequels were developed. “Pokémon Black 2” and “Pokémon White 2” were released on June 23, 2012, and used the same map as their predecessors.

On Oct. 12, 2013, “Pokémon X” and “Pokémon Y” were released worldwide on the Nintendo 3DS console.

These games introduced the sixth generation of Pokémon, adding 72 new Pokémon, and were notable for being the first games in the main series to be fully rendered in 3D as well as the first games to allow players to customize their character. 

On Nov. 18, 2016, “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” were released on the Nintendo 3DS and introduced the seventh generation of Pokémon, adding 86 new Pokémon to the franchise.

These entries were notable for including “Alolan” forms of 18 first-generation Pokémon. These forms were inspired by the island setting that the games had.

A year later on Nov. 17, 2017, enhanced versions of the  games entitled “Pokémon Ultra Sun” and “Pokémon Ultra Moon” were released. These two games marked the first time in the series that new Pokémon were introduced without an entirely new generation.

“Pokémon GO” is a free-to-play augmented reality (AR) mobile game available on both iOS and Android devices.

The game uses the built-in GPS in smartphones to place players in a map based on their location in the real world. On this map, players can walk up to and capture Pokémon in the real world by using AR visuals and the camera on the player’s phone.

Upon release the game become an instant phenomenon, drawing in over 130 million players in its first month. Since then the game has been downloaded over 1 billion times and has grossed over $3 billion from in-app purchases.

On May 3, 2019, “Detective Pikachu” premiered in Japan with the international release premiering the following week. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu and Justice Smith as Tim Goodman.

“Detective Pikachu” was unique from previous Pokémon films, using a blend of live action with CGI-animated Pokémon.

The film was a hit among fans, receiving an audience score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.

On Nov. 15, 2019, “Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield” were released for the Nintendo Switch console.

These games marked the start of the eighth generation of Pokémon and added 81 new Pokémon to the franchise.

The games featured the addition of “Galarian” forms; these were similar to the “Alolan” forms found in “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon.”

The game is the first in the series with a fully explorable open world with a free moving camera and is notable for being the first in the series not to carry over all Pokémon from previous generations.