Thirty years of Pokemon deserves more than a birthday cake, and Polaroid has answered with a full collection of instant cameras, film, and accessories dressed up in franchise flair. It’s a splashier tribute than Fujifilm’s Instax collaboration from five years back — this time the film itself gets the makeover, with Pikachu, Snorlax and friends printed right around the frame borders.
The hardware side leans on three familiar models given fresh coats of paint. The flagship is the Polaroid Now Gen 3 – Pokemon Pokeball Edition, priced at US$139.99 / £129.99. Beyond the Pokeball motif, it inherits the Gen 3’s genuine upgrades: a repositioned light meter, an improved ranging sensor, and an upgraded two-lens autofocus system to keep your subjects sharp. There’s also a built-in tripod mount, filter compatibility, self-timer and double-exposure modes, and USB-C charging. It shoots on Polaroid i-Type film.
For the pocket-sized crowd, two Polaroid Go Gen 3 variants join the lineup — a Pikachu Edition and a Sylveon Edition — each at US$99.99 / £89.99. The Go Gen 3 packs a selfie mirror, self-timer, double-exposure mode, a fresh lens, and a stronger flash for cleaner shots regardless of lighting. It’s the same tiny analog charmer, just tuned to appeal to Team Instinct and Fairy-type fans respectively.
What genuinely sets this collection apart is the film. Instead of the usual clean white borders, packs come pre-printed with Pokemon characters framing each shot. It’s a clever move: even a snapshot of your desk plant ends up co-starring Pikachu. That’s the kind of detail that turns a licensing exercise into something collectors will actually chase.
- Now Gen 3 (Pokeball): US$139.99 / £129.99, i-Type film, USB-C, tripod mount, two-lens autofocus
- Go Gen 3 (Pikachu / Sylveon): US$99.99 / £89.99, selfie mirror, stronger flash, double exposure
Timing-wise, the whole collection opens for preorder on August 25 in the US, Canada and the UK, sold through the Polaroid and Pokemon Center websites. A wider global rollout is slated to follow on October 5. Neither date has arrived yet, so for now this is very much a wishlist item rather than a shelf item.
It’s a smart pairing on paper. Instant photography and Pokemon both trade heavily in nostalgia, and both reward the act of collecting physical things in an increasingly digital world. Whether the character-framed film ends up being a delightful keepsake or a quickly-tiring gimmick will come down to how the prints actually look in hand — but as thirty-year anniversary gestures go, this one at least gives fans something tangible to hold onto.
