From One Ghost To Cosmic Gods, Pokemon Is Unrecognizable After 30 Years

Thirty years ago, Pokemon was a much smaller and stranger world. As Pokemon’s 30th anniversary approaches, the contrast between the original 151 and today’s sprawling National Pokedex shows just how dramatically the series’ creature design has evolved.

When Pokemon Red and Blue first launched, the Kanto region’s lineup was relatively restrained. There was only one Ghost-type evolutionary line--Gastly and its evolutions--and just one fully evolved Dragon-type in Dragonite. Early Pokemon tended to be grounded in animals, simple fantasy archetypes, or straightforward elemental ideas.

Over time, that philosophy shifted. Ghost-types expanded beyond haunted towers and into possessed chandeliers, sandcastles, and household objects. The introduction of the Fairy-type in 2013 reshaped both competitive balance and visual identity, adding a new category that blended folklore with bright, whimsical designs. Dark-types became more nuanced as well, evolving from basic counters to Psychic-types into some of the franchise’s most intricate creations.