Pokémon Officially Unveils 30th Anniversary Red & Green Release

2026 is the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, and Nintendo isn’t letting the year pass without some fanfare. While the next mainline games, Pokémon Winds and Waves, won’t arrive until next year, there have still been more than enough announcements to keep fans entertained.

The latest anniversary reveal might be one of the coolest yet, although only a certain percentage of Pokémon fans are likely to see it as a worthy investment. The Pokémon Company is officially teaming up with guitar company Fender to celebrate the original games, and the collaboration brings two striking designs to the table.

The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel revealed two new Fender guitars themed after Pokémon Red and Green, the first two games released in Japan (although Japan also had its own Pokémon Blue as a later follow-up, the Western Pokémon Blue is more analogous to Green). The “Red Version” guitar is a Fender Stratocaster, while the “Green Version” is a Telecaster.

Rather than simply taking on the colors of the respective games, the Pokémon guitars pay homage through and through. The reveal video shows close-ups of various Pokémon-themed details, from graphics with Red and Green sprites to a pixelated pickguard.

The biggest selling point might be a unique audio toggle, which switches the sound of the guitars to a crunchy 8-bit effect to more accurately replicate the sound of the original games. It all sounds like it could tip over into tacky, but the color choices and finish manage to retain the signature Fender style rather than looking like a cheap toy, resulting in a stylish way to honor the original games.

Despite being a 30th anniversary release, the Pokémon guitars won’t actually release until 2027, so there’s still time to save up for the new releases. Preorders are “coming soon” to the official Pokémon Center website, but the price hasn’t yet been revealed. With two huge brands involved, I wouldn’t place any bets on these guitars being particularly affordable, although there’s a chance that they’ll target a more casual audience rather than delivering the highest standard for guitar aficionados.

If the new Pokémon guitars call your name, you could always go for the one based on the version of the game you grew up with, but there’s ultimately more to the choice. Stratocasters and Telecasters have distinct features and sounds, both with their own advantages. While the Stratocaster offers more options, an arguably more comfortable shape, and a softer sound, the Telecaster’s relative simplicity and punchier twang are equally strong selling points.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other products to peruse on the Pokémon Center, including some new collections for the holiday season (with Halloween now passing, there’s no longer any dam to hold back the inevitable flood of Christmas merchandise). Add the constant stream of newPokémon Trading Card Game releases to the mix, and it shouldn’t be hard for fans to lighten their wallets without even thinking about the temptation of Pokémon‘s Fender collaboration.