It won't have escaped your attention that 2026 marks 30 years of Pokémon. Nintendo, Game Freak, and The Pokémon Company have been celebrating Pokémon's 30th Birthday since February this year, but while the focus has been around the original gen one games set in Kanto, they haven't entirely forgotten about the other generations and regions that fans have come to love.
Heck, just look at the big Pokémon Day stream from February. The star of the show was Pokémon Winds & Waves, confirming that Pokémon is far more interested in its future than its past. Of course, we're not getting gen 10 until late 2027 at the earliest, so the rest of 2026 is really all about checking back in on the games that made us fall in love with the series.
For many, Pokémon Crystal and Emerald remain the high-points of the series. Crystal was, of course, the definitive and expanded version of the generation two games set in Johto, while Emerald did the same for generation three. Both games hold a very special place in the hearts of players everywhere, and now we can revisit them thanks to a special 30th anniversary release.
Starting today (June...
