Pokémon celebrates 30 years of community and collecting

By Lethbridge Herald on March 4, 2026.

Herald photo by JOE MANIO Round Table Games co-owner Casey Rupps checks in on a table of PokŽmon trainers during the first round of the Saturday League at the cafŽ.

By Joe Manio

Lethbridge Herald

What started as a simple video game and cartoon in 1996 has become a 30-year cultural phenomenon — and it’s not slowing down. The reason isn’t just colourful monsters or catchy tunes; it’s community and connection. 

Pokémon has thrived because it brings people together across generations, turning what many thought would be a passing fad into a shared experience that spans decades.

In 1996, a pair of pixelated monsters slipped out of Japan and into kids’ Nintendo Game Boys. Three decades later, Pokémon hasn’t just survived — it has evolved.

What began with Pokémon Red and Green — “Pokémon,” short for Pocket Monsters — has grown into a global juggernaut: television, movies, competitive gaming, toys, and a trading card market that can swing like the stock exchange. 

From Tokyo to Toronto — and right here in Lethbridge — Pokémon is still catching new fans.

Back in the late ’90s, when the animated series debuted and the Pokémon Trading Card Game began filling binders, critics weren’t convinced it would last. Monster-collecting felt novel; the bright characters seemed like a sugar rush.

But Pokémon proved to be one of Japan’s most enduring cultural exports — alongside Hello Kitty and Mario — and is widely regarded as the highest-grossing media franchise in the world.

At Round Table Games in Lethbridge, that staying power is visible every week.

“We are seeing a lot of families playing together,” says Brynn Watts, co-owner of the gaming café, which hosts weekly Pokémon nights. “I think Pokémon has stuck around because it’s simple. The show is fun and colourful. The story is straightforward. Each character or Pokémon has its own personality. The card game is just a natural transition of the battle element of the show. And the game’s mechanics aren’t complicated.”

Watts and his business partner, Casey Rupps, first met in the 7th grade through Pokémon — a connection that eventually led them to start Round Table Games.

What began as nostalgia-driven gatherings for millennials has evolved into something broader: first-generation trainers — now in their 30s and 40s — playing with, and sometimes against, their own children. League nights routinely see parents and kids testing decks across the same table.

Pokémon play also happens at The Vault and Showcase Comics, further cementing its footprint in Lethbridge. On Friday, the actual 30th anniversary of Pokémon, over 50 trainers crammed into The Vault’s space for their twice-a-week Pokémon League, celebrating decades of catching creatures and building decks.

Watts says he’s seen a particular resurgence in trading cards.

“I see the real surge in Pokémon cards,” he says. “Parents being nostalgic and sharing with their kids.”

That cross-generational appeal is key. The franchise didn’t just sell products; it built a world that continues to expand with each console generation, anime refresh, and card set release. Reinvention has become routine.

The trading cards, once swapped for bragging rights, are now serious collectibles, with rare cards fetching hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars. But in Lethbridge, competition still outweighs speculation. Players test decks, study rule changes, and compete in structured play.

Pokémon has thrived beyond living rooms and card tables. When Pokémon Go launched in 2016, city streets became augmented-reality safari zones. Parks filled with players chasing digital creatures, introducing the franchise to people who may never have picked up a Game Boy or a deck of cards.

Nearly a decade later, the mobile game remains active — and local players even use the Lethbridge PokeMap, which charts Gyms and PokéStops, helping trainers plan routes, coordinate raids, and explore the city.

Thirty years on, Pokémon has outlived the “fad” label. It has survived technological shifts, market bubbles, and changing tastes. In Lethbridge, it now spans generations at the same tables.

Because in the world of Pokémon — Pocket Monsters, creatures you can carry in your pocket — the journey isn’t just about catching them all. It’s about who you’re playing beside — or across from — when you do.