Is National Pokemon Day an official public holiday?

No. It is an informal franchise anniversary, not a government or public holiday, so banks, schools, and offices stay open. The Pokemon Company simply calls February 27 Pokemon Day.

Why is Pokemon Day on February 27?

February 27 is the day in 1996 that Pocket Monsters Red and Green, the first Pokemon games, went on sale for the Game Boy in Japan. The franchise treats that release date as its birthday.

What were the first Pokemon games?

The first games were Pokemon Red and Green, released in Japan in 1996. The international debut came in 1998 as Pokemon Red and Blue, which is why many fans outside Japan remember those as the originals.

Pokemon was created by Satoshi Tajiri, who co-founded the studio Game Freak. Game Freak developed the games and Nintendo published them.

How does The Pokemon Company celebrate Pokemon Day?

The company usually marks February 27 with a Pokemon Presents video broadcast that announces upcoming games and projects, alongside in-game events and merchandise tie-ins.

593 saved#77 of 6,224

National Pokemon Day

A global franchise anniversary on February 27 marking the launch of the first Pokemon video games and celebrating the series, its games, and its fans worldwide.

Saturday

February 2027

Last updated February 26, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar Team

Have an update or spot an error?

YEARLY DATEFebruary 27

OBSERVED INInternationally

CATEGORYPop Culture

SUBCATEGORYGaming

ORIGIN

Corporate Initiative

FOUNDING ENTITY

The Pokemon Company

FIRST OBSERVED

1996

“Pokemon Day marks February 27, 1996, the Japanese launch of the first Pokemon games for the Game Boy.

HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

Two Game Boy cartridges that grew into the world's biggest franchise.

Pokemon Day commemorates February 27, 1996, when Pocket Monsters Red and Green, the first Pokemon games, launched for the Game Boy in Japan. They were created by Satoshi Tajiri and developed by his studio Game Freak with Nintendo's support, and The Pokemon Company now brands February 27 each year as Pokemon Day, usually headlined by a Pokemon Presents broadcast.

View Official Announcementvia The Pokemon Company

INTRO

The biggest franchise on Earth started with two cartridges

PHOTO

<![CDATA[

The word "National" sits awkwardly on this one. No government declared February 27 anything. Yet by the only measure that counts in dollars, the thing it celebrates is the largest of its kind on the planet. Guinness World Records names Pokemon the best-selling media franchise of all time, with an estimated 147 billion dollars grossed as of April 2024. That is more than any film series, any book series, any comic line ever built.

All of it traces back to a single day and two small grey cartridges. On February 27, 1996, a pair of Game Boy games went on sale in Japan. They were strange little things about catching imaginary creatures and trading them with friends, and almost nobody outside Japan had heard of them.

Thirty years later, the date has a name. The Pokemon Company treats February 27 as the franchise's birthday and fans treat it as a holiday, even if no almanac officially agrees.

]]>

ORIGINS

Pokemon Day history

INTRODUCTION

Pokemon began with a boy who collected bugs. Satoshi Tajiri grew up catching insects near Tokyo, and that hobby became the seed of a game about catching, keeping, and trading creatures. He built it at Game Freak, the studio he co-founded, with Nintendo backing the project.

The idea took years to make. By the time it was ready, the games were built for the Game Boy, Nintendo's black-and-white handheld, and aimed at children who would link their consoles to trade.

CHAPTER 01

Red and Green, February 27, 1996

The first two games, Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, launched for the Game Boy in Japan on February 27, 1996. The two versions held slightly different creatures on purpose, so finishing the collection meant trading with someone who owned the other game.

That single design choice turned a solo game into a schoolyard economy. Children linked their Game Boys with a cable and swapped creatures they could not otherwise get, and the games sold by word of mouth.

CHAPTER 02

From cartridge to global empire

Pokemon did not stay a game for long. The trading card game, a long-running anime, feature films, and a flood of merchandise followed, with the electric yellow Pikachu out front as the face of the brand. The franchise reached North America in 1998 and set off a worldwide craze.

The games themselves kept selling at a scale almost nothing else matches. Pokemon is the best-selling role-playing video-game series, with more than 485 million games sold as of the end of 2024.

CHAPTER 03

February 27 becomes Pokemon Day

The anniversary eventually became an event. The Pokemon Company now marks February 27 each year as Pokemon Day, usually anchoring it with a Pokemon Presents video broadcast that reveals what is coming next for the series.

The 2026 broadcast opened the franchise's 30-year celebration. What began as a release date had become the day the whole franchise checks in with its fans.

]]>

BY THE NUMBERS

National Pokemon Day by the Numbers

$147B: Franchise gross, all time
485M+: Pokemon games sold worldwide
1,025: Pokemon species, Generation IX
1996: First games launched in Japan

TIMELINE

Timeline

The first games launch in Japan

Pocket Monsters Red and Green went on sale for the Game Boy in Japan on February 27, 1996, created by Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak and published by Nintendo.

Pokemon reaches North America

The franchise crossed over to the West as Pokemon Red and Blue in 1998, igniting a global craze for the games, cards, and anime.

Pokemon Go puts creatures on the street

The augmented-reality mobile game Pokemon Go launched and was downloaded more than a billion times within three years, reaching a new generation of players.

Confirmed the best-selling franchise ever

Guinness World Records put Pokemon's lifetime gross at an estimated 147 billion dollars as of April 2024, the highest of any media franchise.

Thirty years of Pokemon

The February 27 Pokemon Day broadcast opened the franchise's 30-year celebration, three decades after the first cartridges shipped.

MYTH VS FACT

Common Misconceptions

The myth

The first Pokemon games were Red and Blue.

The truth

The very first games were Pokemon Red and Green, released in Japan on February 27, 1996. Red and Blue were the 1998 international release, which is why fans outside Japan often remember them as the originals.

The myth

National Pokemon Day is an official government holiday.

The truth

It is an informal franchise anniversary, not a government observance. The Pokemon Company simply calls February 27 Pokemon Day, and the National label is an unofficial add-on, so banks, schools, and offices stay open.

Test your knowledge

How well do you know National Pokemon Day?

1 / 8

Which two games launched on February 27, 1996, the date Pokemon Day marks?

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why We Love National Pokemon Day

REACH

A game about catching creatures sent a billion people walking.

Pokemon has never stayed in one place, most dramatically with Pokemon Go in 2016, which passed a billion downloads within three years and sent players walking real streets to catch creatures on their phones.

SCALE

It tops every other media franchise

Guinness World Records ranks Pokemon as the best-selling media franchise ever, the single most commercially successful entertainment property on Earth, ahead of any film, book, or comic line ever built.

RITUAL

It gives fans a fixed point each year

Because The Pokemon Company treats February 27 as the franchise's birthday and headlines it with a Pokemon Presents broadcast, the date works as an annual reveal that millions of fans plan around.

GET INVOLVED

How to Celebrate National Pokemon Day

Watch the Pokemon Presents broadcast

The Pokemon Company usually streams a Pokemon Presents video on February 27 with news about upcoming games and projects. Tune in to see what the franchise reveals for the year ahead.

REPLAY

Replay one of the classic games

Boot up an early entry in the series and start a new run. It is the cleanest way to see how much of today's Pokemon was already there in the first cartridges.

TRADE

Trade or battle with a friend

Trading was built into Pokemon from day one, when finishing the collection meant linking up with someone who had the other version. Spend the day swapping creatures or running a few battles.

DIG

Dig into the trading card game

Open a pack, sort a collection, or learn the card game's rules. The cards have been part of Pokemon almost since the start and remain one of the franchise's biggest pillars.

TEST

Test how many creatures you know

The roster has grown from 151 to more than a thousand species. Quiz yourself or a friend on names and types, and see how far past the original lineup your memory reaches.

Answer

It falls on February 27 every year. The date marks the 1996 Japanese release of the first Pokemon games.

COLOPHON

Sources

How we know what’s on this page. References, not endorsements.

8sources

2primary records

6independently dated

Primary records

The Pokemon Company2025-02-27

A New Pokemon Presents for Pokemon Day on February 27, 2025

Official announcement in which The Pokemon Company calls February 27 Pokemon Day and details that year's Pokemon Presents broadcast.

View source

The Pokemon Company2026-02-27

Watch the New Pokemon Presents This Pokemon Day on February 27, 2026

Official post on the February 27, 2026 Pokemon Day broadcast, which opened the franchise's 30-year celebration.

View source

Additional coverage

Guinness World Records2026-03-16

Best-selling media franchise Pokemon celebrates its 30th anniversary

Records authority naming Pokemon the best-selling media franchise, grossing an estimated 147 billion dollars as of April 2024.

View source

Guinness World Records

Best-selling RPG videogame series

Record entry documenting 485,310,000 Pokemon games sold as of December 31, 2024, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo.

View source

Smithsonian Magazine2026-02-27

Nintendo Released Its First Pokemon Games 30 Years Ago

Feature on the February 27, 1996 Japan release of Pokemon Red and Green, creator Satoshi Tajiri, Game Freak, Nintendo, and the franchise's expansion.

View source

Dexerto2025-02-27

How many Pokemon are there?

Gaming-press tally of 1,025 distinct Pokemon species as of Generation IX, excluding Mega Evolutions, Gigantamax forms, and regional variants.

View source

Engadget2019-07-31

Pokemon Go has racked up 1 billion downloads

Report that Pokemon Go surpassed one billion downloads since its 2016 launch.

View source

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Satoshi Tajiri

Biography corroborating Tajiri as the creator of Pokemon and co-founder of Game Freak, and the February 27, 1996 Game Boy release.

View source

Related holidays

WED

Feb 2026

Hobbies

National Trading Card Day

It's time to trade, collect, and show off your favorite cards because it's National Trading Card Day! Don't miss out on the fun.

Trading Cards for Grown-ups Day

Calling all grown-ups! It's time to relive your childhood nostalgia and trade some cards with friends on Trading Cards for Grown-ups Day. Let the games begin!

57Read

SAT

Sep 2026