BBC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The boss of The Pok\u00e9mon Company believes the series can last for at least another 50 years if it continues to innovate.<\/p>\n First launched on Nintendo’s Game Boy in 1996, the video game has expanded into films, TV and toys to become one of the world’s highest-grossing media franchise.<\/p>\n Most recently, the trading card game based on the cute creatures at the centre of its universe has seen a surge in popularity – but it has also brought scalpers and frauds to the hobby.<\/p>\n CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, who has been in charge of the company since 1998, spoke to BBC News ahead of its yearly update about the secret of its success, tackling challenges, and the series’ future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pok\u00e9mon Day is an annual showcase of upcoming releases, upgrades and events.<\/p>\n Fans are hoping for news on upcoming Nintendo Switch title Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A, and info on the popular trading card game.<\/p>\n Mr Ishihara wasn’t giving away too much ahead of the event but says the long-term goal is to “enrich both the real world and the virtual world”.<\/p>\n Pok\u00e9mon GO – the company’s successful mobile phone app that works with a device’s GPS to place monsters in the real world – is an example of this.<\/p>\n “This is what I think is the biggest strength of Pok\u00e9mon, and it’s important for us to come up with this kind of idea,” he says. <\/p>\n “So that’s how I think of what we want to achieve next.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of the hottest topics among long-term Pok\u00e9mon fans today is scalpers.<\/p>\n The resurgence of the collectible card game has caught the attention of resellers who buy up new packs in the hope of landing rare, valuable cards.<\/p>\n YouTuber Logan Paul switched a lot of people on to the potential profits of the hobby when he paid $5.3m (\u00a33.9m) for the most expensive Pok\u00e9mon card ever.<\/a><\/p>\n Gaming companies have long had an issue with the second-hand market, and Mr Ishihara says it “prevents new products from being sold”.<\/p>\n “When the second hand market becomes more valuable because of rarity, that is problematic because our business is affected.”<\/p>\n Fans have suggested The Pok\u00e9mon Company could produce a greater volume of hard-to-find or limited-run items but Mr Ishihara says it cannot do much to control the resale market.<\/p>\n “Those items are seen to be valuable because they’re rare or seen as vintage \u2013 and it’s not our place to say that they’re not,” he says.<\/p>\n On the topic of counterfeit products Mr Ishihara is more direct, and says the company’s legal teams have fought “rigorously” against clones and fakes since the beginning. <\/p>\n It recently won a long legal battle<\/a> against the Chinese company behind a copycat mobile app.<\/p>\n And earlier this year it joined Nintendo to sue the makers of Palworld – an online multiplayer survival game described as “Pok\u00e9mon with guns”.<\/p>\n It alleges developer Pocketpair infringed patents, which it has denied.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pok\u00e9mon has continued to bring new fans to the franchise by expanding into anime, card games, movies and toys alongside its video game titles.<\/p>\n Mr Ishihara says fans now “span several generations” and believes “the biggest reason behind their success is the fact that Pok\u00e9mon became a tool of communication”.<\/p>\n Last weekend, about 13,000 Pok\u00e9mon fans headed to the European leg of the International Championships at London’s Excel Centre.<\/p>\n It demonstrates Mr Ishihara’s point that people have found their way into the series through various means.<\/p>\n Fans Justin, 25, and Marina, 28, who turned up to the event in Team Rocket costumes, tell BBC News they got into Pok\u00e9mon by watching the animated TV show as children.<\/p>\n “I just loved all the designs, all the different characters,” says Justin.<\/p>\n “They were just really really cute.”<\/p>\n Marina says in-person events have become a chance for her to meet fellow fans.<\/p>\n “I always used to want to go to conventions and these sorts of events.<\/p>\n “So being able to be here and network and make friends has been such a blessing,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Pok\u00e9mon Company is unusual because it is a private company.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/759e\/live\/ecec62d0-f43a-11ef-8c03-7dfdbeeb2526.jpg.webp\")
The Pokemon Company<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nPok\u00e9mon Day announcements<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Pok\u00e9mon scalpers, fakes and Palworld<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Pocketpair](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6c6f\/live\/ce85e070-f39d-11ef-9171-13a46257ded9.png.webp\")
Pocketpair<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe secret of Pok\u00e9mon’s success<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0469\/live\/2ebe0eb0-f39c-11ef-9171-13a46257ded9.jpg.webp\")
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWe have one focus… Pok\u00e9mon<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/dff6\/live\/58477db0-f39d-11ef-9171-13a46257ded9.jpg.webp\")
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/f42a\/live\/36f98800-f39e-11ef-9171-13a46257ded9.jpg.webp\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e547\/live\/024487d0-f39f-11ef-9e61-71ee71f26eb1.jpg.webp\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n