Next to Mario, the Pokemon franchise is Nintendo’s most recognizable series. It actually may be more famous as it appeals to a wider audience across many platforms. It even managed to corner the phone market with several big games. The biggest of which, of course, was Pokemon Go.
The idea of the Pokemon games is to collect them all. This mentality seems to have bled over into Nintendo’s console strategies as they have released a lot of themed consoles over the years starring Pokemon. This includes right from the start of the franchise on Game Boy. From contests to mass-marketed handhelds, let’s take a look at the coolest console variations.
10 Pokemon Center Game Boy Light
The Game Boy Light launched in Japan on April 14, 1998. It is based on the Game Boy Pocket line with the sleek, more compact model. As the name might imply, it has a built-in light to make it easier to see one’s game in low-light situations. This predated the GBA SP by years. It had a few models but one of the more rare ones could only be purchased from the Pokemon Center in Tokyo, which would be the Pokemon model shown above.
9 Nintendo 64 Pikachu Consoles
There were varying editions of this console made to celebrate Hey Pikachu. There was a dark blue one in North America. Then there was a light blue one in Japan as well as this orange one which was also only in Japan. There is a Pokeball power button and Pikachu’s foot is the reset button. In this way, Pikachu isn’t just a decoration for the N64.
8 Pokemon Championship 2009 DSi
The 2009 Pokemon Championships were held in San Diego in 2009. This DSi handheld was rewarded to about a hundred contestants that did well over the course of the convention.
It features an exclusive blue coloring as well as the tournament year printed on the cover next to an adorable drawing of Pikachu surfing. It might be the coolest prize from any of these tournaments.
7 Pokemon Championship 2010 DSi XL
The 2010 Pokemon Championships were held in Hawaii that year. Just like the 2009 tournament, about a hundred of these handhelds were distributed to contestants that did well in the games. The DSi XL is yellow, featuring Pikachu and other Pokemon doing a traditional Hawaiian dance. The coloring of these sketches next to the yellow handheld background itself kind of makes it hard to see through.
6 Cosplay Pikachu 3DS XL
This special 3DS XL was a lottery prize in Japan only. It was set up through Toys R Us stores which might be a fun fact itself to know that that company had a Japanese branch. Store history aside, twenty of these handhelds were made. For those that may have forgotten, these cosplaying Pikachus aren’t random. These costumes were featured in Pokemon X/Y, which is what this 3DS XL is celebrating.
5 Pikachu 3DS XL
As one can plainly see, this 3DS XL is celebrating the mascot of Pokemon, Pikachu. Most consoles are themed around the electric critter, or that is to say, a lot at least are. This model was not created to promote any one game in particular. The reason why it’s so well-known though is controversial because of the camera placement. Without spelling it out, the cameras make Pikachu look a bit risqué which made this system, as nice as it is, a favorite among meme creators.
4 Pokemon Battle Trozei 3DS XL
There were two 3DS XL units themed around Pokemon Battle Trozei released. There were four white models and five black models.
This makes them incredibly rare. Each one has similar patterns of Pokemon from the game in their ball forms. These were created for two separate contests in Japan around 2014. It's hard to find these consoles rewarded to the contestants so old Japanese magazine promos are as good as most resources get.
3 Pokemon Cocoon Of Destruction 3DS XL
These 3DS XL units were made to promote the movie Pokemon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction. About forty of these systems were made in total and while the cover art is the same, there are varying colors. There were black, red, blue, and white versions. These were distributed during a contest to promote the movie in 2014 across various Japanese restaurants, including Denny’s. Fun fact, they do have locations in Japan, apparently.
2 Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu Switch
This Switch System was made to promote Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee in 2018. Each side of the dock and console are themed around each Pokemon from sketches to coloring. The bundle even comes with the Pokeball controller accessory and a copy of the Pikachu version of the game. Why there wasn’t a specific Eevee version with the game is anyone’s guess.
1 Pokemon Sword/Shield Switch Lite
This was another Pokemon Switch bundle that was made to promote not only the next generation of Pokemon but the next generation of Switch consoles. That is to say, this is a Switch Lite with various sketches and colors to represent the two legendary Pokemon from each game aka Zacian and Zamazenta. The bundle strangely did not come with the game, unlike the other model. That is not uncommon for Nintendo bundles though especially when it came to the 3DS.