The mysterious creatures we’ve come to know as Pokémon have been constantly evolving while staying true to their video game roots, even since the release of the first Pokémon games on 27 February 1996.

Tsunekazu Ishihara, president, CEO and founder of The Pokémon Company, has been closely involved with Pokémon since its inception 30 years ago, continuously driving innovations.

Here, the App Store Editors catch up with him about his Pokémon journey so far, and how he plans to bring Pokémon and people ever closer.

Ishihara is a co-founder of Creatures Inc., one of the original copyright holders of Pokémon. And in 1998, he created The Pokémon Company which had its start operating Pokémon Center stores, born from the idea of what the in-game facilities would look like, brought to life in the real world. Later, with the release of plush toys and other merchandise, the company expanded in 2000 to take on licensing and oversight of Pokémon-related productions.

“I’ve always believed that connecting the world of Pokémon with the real world brings even more exciting possibilities,” says Ishihara.

”The setting for the Pokémon games started with the Kanto region, followed by Johto, and then Hoenn, which are similar to real-world Japan. The game was designed as an adventure close to the one that players live in.”

While imagining maps, terrain and environments, the team considered which Pokémon would fit in a certain place or what kind of adventures they would want to have. And for many players, the game experience connects to real-life experiences such as catching insects, fishing, raising animals or growing plants.

”By and by, we realised that maybe people from other countries could connect to those same experiences, which led to the franchise’s global expansion. More real-world locations and imagery were brought into the game, and with them, Pokémon that might inhabit those areas.”

To further integrate with the physcial world, the team dreamt up the Pokémon Trading Card Game to bring a competitive element to the franchise, then created anime and films to share the Pokémon experience with those who don’t play the games. ”I personally found the challenge of bringing Pokémon elements closer to real life exciting,” says Ishihara.

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