Twenty Years Ago and Twenty Years Hence

[Imperator161]

Looking back over the past twenty years of Pokemon's development, are you surprised by the direction the series has taken? Are you surprised it still exists and is going strong? Twenty years ago (or whenever you started playing Pokemon), if you had had to guess where the series would be today, what assumptions would you have made?

In the same vein, where do you see the games and the franchise going in the next two decades?

 

[AliceBlaze]

Looking at how long Pokemon has been going now, I find it hard to believe that they were originally going to stop after Gold/Silver and that the anime was only going to last one season. When I was younger, I had no idea how long the franchise was going to last for and until B/W was announced, I thought it was going to end at Gen 4 because of Arceus.

 

[Hikamaru]

I was only three at the time Red & Green came out in Japan, and it's just so amazing that I've lived as long as Pokemon has, only being older than the franchise by four years. Seeing all the technological advancements, the characters, the Pokemon and new mechanics is what helps me still be a fan of the series to this days.

 

[VisualJae]

I started drawing my own Fakemon amidst the initial RBY hype (including additional evolutionary stages for Pokémon like the starters, Kangaskhan, Gengar, etc. and who knew the Mega Evolutions today would have become a reality).

As soon as Gold/Silver came out, I was thoroughly convinced that the franchise would keep pumping out more Pokémon as long as there were more animals, objects, etc. they can base them on.