Josh has been playing video games for longer than he can remember, kicking things off with a Master System before upgrading to a Mega Drive. Covering the industry since 2018, if a game has a strong story – or even better, the decisions you make determine the course of that story – odds are he’s going to like it. Or, you know, put Sonic or Pikachu on the cover and that’ll get his attention too.
Pokemon turns 30 in 2026, and we can expect some big things from its creators to mark the occasion. What we’ll be getting in terms of games remains a closely-guarded secret, although what we’re getting from Uniqlo has now been revealed, and it’s pretty special.
A closely-guarded secret if you’re unfamiliar with the Game Freak leaks, although none of that information is official until The Pokemon Company reveals it.
Continuing its successful relationship with The Pokemon Company, Uniqlo has revealed a new line of merch that features artwork from the series’ original games, Pokemon Red Blue. Or more accurately Red Green since those were the names of the games in Japan, and, for now at least, this collection will be exclusively available in Pokemon’s home country.
Pokemon Merch That Features The Series Original Watercolor Designs Is Coming To Uniqlo
The collection will be released in March 2026, but all of the designs that will be a part of it have already been shown off by Uniqlo. There are five adult options, and five kids options, although three of the designs appear to be available in both sizes, but with different color options.
All of the designs feature Pokemon that first appeared using the series’ original watercolor designs. The designs that were used for the original games’ cover art, in magazines, and even showed up during the early days of the TCG. One of the designs, and the t-shirt from the collection I’d put money on selling best, features a very early and iconic depiction of Charizard, leaning back and breathing fire into the air, the Pokemon logo over its head.
Another t-shirt in the collection pays homage to the first time we were ever faced with choosing a starter Pokemon. Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle’s original designs, “I have only three left, but you can have one. Choose!” printed underneath them.
Other options include a black t-shirt with a watercolor Gengar right in the middle, and perhaps best of all, a t-shirt that has the original, much chonkier design for Pikachu on the chest like a badge of honor. Everything in the collection will be released in March 2026, presumably to coincide with what is bound to be a very special Pokemon Day at the end of February.
You Can Make Your Own Pokemon Merch At Uniqlo Right Now
If you can’t wait until then to buy something Pokemon-themed from Uniqlo, it recently added a Pokemon wing to the make your own merch section of its site. The options are mostly Ditto-themed, presumably as a way to put focus on the transforming Pokemon ahead of its starring role in Pokopia, which also releases in March 2026.
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It’s unlikely the Ditto range will ever make it out of Japan. The Monster Hunter range that preceded it was never sold outside of Japan. The anniversary collection, however, while not confirmed just yet, will probably be available elsewhere.
Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano
Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ôhashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shouji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku
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