Pokémon continues to enjoy love in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Pokémon is one of the most popular and enduring franchises in the world, with millions of fans across different generations, cultures and countries. 

In the Philippines, Pokémon has a special place in the hearts of many Filipinos who grew up eagerly anticipating the weekly episodes of the anime series on the local channels. The love for Pokémon then evolved (no pun intended) to a love for the video games, the collection of trading cards, to even venturing outdoors with mobile phones in hand in order to catch ‘em all while on “Pokémon GO”.

“Pokémon always puts into consideration how Pokémon may be enjoyed by people from all around the world when developing Pokémon contents. One example is the Pokémon Video Game franchise. The Pokémon Video Game franchise is the base of all of our Pokémon content and the Pokémon Video games are all created very meticulously while incorporating the four universal game elements: collect, train, battle and trade. We think that this is one of the reasons why the Pokémon franchise itself is well accepted across the globe,” said Zoe Serrano, a member of The Pokémon Company’s Asia Business Development Division.

Being a part of that generation in the 90s who waited for the local broadcast on Philippine television of the Pokémon anime series, Serrano saw and experienced firsthand Pokémon’s popularity in the country.

“I was born and raised in the Philippines and I'm one of those people who grew up with Pokémon. We all know that sometime in the 90s, Pokémon started broadcasting on local Philippine television, and the series quickly became a hit amongst the younger audiences that time. We as a generation have grown-up but that core memory of being able to watch Pokémon on your local channel is there,” she added.

But why do these creatures, in any form, appeal so much to the Filipino audience?

“Filipinos are very social and we feel that the social game elements like the battle and trade, which are incorporated in the Pokémon Video Games franchise as well as the Pokémon Trading Card game is one of the reasons why Filipinos love Pokémon so much,” explained Serrano.

Growth of Philippine Pokémon community

With the local community steadily growing, The Pokémon Company wished to enhance the brand’s presence in the country, appointing Makoto Arakawa along with Serrano as a dedicated unit for the Philippine market since last year.

“Pokémon recently approached its 28th anniversary in February this year, and until now, Pokémon is still being enjoyed globally by a lot of people. We feel like there are a lot of longtime fans of Pokémon in the Philippines ever since, and the love for Pokémon just continues to grow [here],” said Arakawa.

With the steady growth of the community, The Pokémon Company recently had different campaigns and tie-ups with local brands in a continued effort to connect with the Filipino fans. Recent tie-ups include that with milk tea franchise Serenitea, McDonald's Pokémon Happy Meal, Miniso, Oreo Pokémon cookies, and the SM Store Pokémon T-shirts with more in store for Filipino Pokémon fans in the future.

Besides the campaigns and tie-ups, the Filipino Pokémon community has truly shone at   Pokémon TCG and video game tournaments.

Arakawa and Serrano witnessed this firsthand as they recently visited the Philippines during the Pokémon Championships 2023-2024 held at the Market! Market! Activity Center last May wherein the number of participants increased from last year’s number.

“We had 368 participants for the Pokémon Trading Card game tournament this year, which is almost three times more than the participants we had last year, which was only 132 participants,” said Arakawa.

Another steady increase was seen in the younger division of the Pokémon TCG players, the juniors and under-17 category.

“[We] always make sure that the Pokémon contents are enjoyable for all ages. One example is ‘Pokémon GO’, which we think is enjoyed by a lot of different people of different age groups, from kids, and even adults,” said Arakawa.

He adds, “We hear [stories] about parents and children as well as partners playing the Pokémon Trading Card game. We hope that through Pokémon TCG, more people will be encouraged to connect with their loved ones, friends and other people, regardless of age and gender."