The Pokémon Company

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum



Background

The Pokémon Company is a Japanese company that is responsible for marketing and licensing the Pokémon franchise. It was formed in 1998 as a joint venture between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. The company also has a subsidiary called The Pokémon Company International which serves American and European territories, formed as a merger between Pokémon USA (founded in 2001) and Pokémon UK in 2009.



1st Logo (1998-)

Visuals: A still of the text "The Pokémon Company" on a white background.

Variants:

  • This logo will often appear above or below other company logos in various spin-off games.
  • The logo is sometimes inverted to have white text on a black background.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None. On Pokemon Channel, Meowth can be heard saying "This show is brought to you by these sponsors here!"

Availability:

  • Seen on certain Pokémon side series and spin-off games, such as Pokémon Box Ruby and Sapphire, as well as the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series of games.
  • It is also seen on mobile apps and games such as Pokémon GO, Pokémon Masters EX, Pokémon Home, Pokémon Smile and Pokémon Unite.
  • It also appears on the Generation V core series games Pokémon Black Version, Pokémon White Version, Pokémon Black Version 2, and Pokémon White Version 2 above the Nintendo logo, but not any core series game before or since then.

2nd Logo (July 18, 2003-2006)

Visuals: There is the text "The Pokémon Company" in a white background, just like in the previous logo. Copies of the letters, in a blue-orange-yellow gradient, zoom out briefly in front of the text, while multiple rings appear growing out from each side, each having the interlocked texts "Communication", "Friendship", "Adventure", "Challenge" and "Happiness" in this specific order. Each element fades out, leaving the logo before it fades out.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A 2-note synth sounder.

Availability:

  • Seen on the Nintendo GameCube titles Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and Pokémon Channel among others.
  • It was also seen on commercials for the Pokémon Trading Card Game and used as an opening logo on international prints of Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys and Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

3rd Logo (May 10, 2019, November 24, 2021)


Visuals: On a black background, a 3D model of the Earth fades in spinning, eventually getting faster before turning into a Poké Ball as a shining effect appears. The ball shakes once as its center lights up, making the ball disappear in a flash of light, revealing the 3D text "The Pokémon Company" in its corporate font, which slowly zooms out.

Alternate Descriptive Video Transcription: Earth transforms into a Poké Ball that flashes with light, The Pokémon Company.

Variant: There is a variant that reads "The Pokémon Company International" instead. This variant also has 2021 copyright information on the bottom.

Technique: CGI by yU+co.

Audio: A "bling" sound effect as the globe turns into the Poké Ball, followed by the iconic sound effect (a warbling noise, followed by a click) when a Poké Ball is used in the games. The TPCI variant plays the ending theme of the reel over the sound effects.

Availability: