Pokemon‘s 30th anniversary was celebrated earlier this year, on February 27, and at key events like Pokemon Day, but the companies involved (The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, Nintendo) have celebrated it throughout the year too. Now, it seems the companies will end the year with a bang, getting in one more Pokemon release before it’s all said and done.
To say the Pokemon franchise is gigantic would be an understatement. It is easily one of the most popular IPs in the world, and it has an expansive history from the initial releases of Pokemon Red and Green to the most recent release in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. A new generation of Pokemon is always exciting, and 2027 embarks on that journey with the Gen 10 games Pokemon Winds and Waves. Compiling everything before Pokemon Winds and Waves, though, is taking place in December.
3 New Art Books of Pokemon History Release in December 2026
Game Freak has created a three-volume artbook collection covering the visual development of the Pokemon series across 30 years, with each book focusing on a different era of the franchise. Together, the three volumes will contain roughly 1,500 pages of material, making this one of the most extensive looks yet at how Pokemon has evolved from its earliest days to its modern releases. Perhaps it’ll help define that elusive key design element that differentiates a Pokemon from a Pal, for example.
New Questions Added!
GameRant Quiz
The three books are divided by different eras of Pokemon. Book 1 covers the series from Red and Green through HeartGold and SoulSilver, while Book 2 focuses on Black and White through Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Book 3 covers the Nintendo Switch era, beginning with the Pokemon Let’s Go games and continuing through Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Mega Dimension (with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl excluded from the lineup).
The Pokemon 30th Anniversary Art Book will release on December 18, 2026, with all three volumes launching simultaneously. Each B5-sized book will be presented in full color and contain approximately 500 pages, with material ranging from sprites and 3DCG to illustrations, promotional artwork, and previously unpublished setting materials. The books are being published by Overlap under the supervision of The Pokemon Company and Game Freak, with Motomiya Shusuke serving as editor-in-chief.
Each volume will include a lengthy interview with a Game Freak creator, alongside setting materials that have never been published before. Pokemon fans looking to dive even deeper into the franchise’s history, ahead of December, can also pick up the Pokemon Official National Pokedex 1996-2026, which released on August 7 with information on all 1,025 Pokemon, including types, abilities, measurements, Pokedex descriptions, evolution charts, and explanations of mechanics such as Regional Forms and Mega Evolution. The 448-page full-color reference book costs 2750 Yen (about $17.45).
