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The Pokémon Company
Content Design
Gotta Serve 'Em All: Redesigning Pokémon.com
The call every creative dreams about
"We need you to redesign Pokémon.com."
Pause. Process. Try not to squeal.
"One small thing," they continued. "It needs to work for kindergarteners who can't read, their safety-conscious parents, competitive players doing statistical analysis, and adult collectors managing thousand-dollar card portfolios."
Oh, is that all?
Understanding our three distinctly different humans
We spent weeks studying how different people used Pokémon. The patterns were fascinating:
The Young Trainer (6-12 years)
Morning routine: Check for new Pokémon reveals
Favorite feature: "That spinny Pokédex thing"
Pain point: Can't find the games section
Secret weapon: Infinite enthusiasm
The Serious Competitor (13-35 years)
Daily check: Tournament standings and meta analysis
Spreadsheet count: 47 and growing
Frustration level: "Why is competitive info buried in kids' content?"
Quote: "I need damage calculations, not Pikachu dancing"
The Protective Parent
Primary concern: "Is this safe for my kid?"
Secondary concern: "What exactly IS a Pokémon?"
Time on site: 3 minutes (checking safety, then leaving)
What they needed: Clear controls and actual answers
The call every creative dreams about
"We need you to redesign Pokémon.com."
Pause. Process. Try not to squeal.
"One small thing," they continued. "It needs to work for kindergarteners who can't read, their safety-conscious parents, competitive players doing statistical analysis, and adult collectors managing thousand-dollar card portfolios."
Oh, is that all?
Understanding our three distinctly different humans
We spent weeks studying how different people used Pokémon. The patterns were fascinating:
The Young Trainer (6-12 years)
Morning routine: Check for new Pokémon reveals
Favorite feature: "That spinny Pokédex thing"
Pain point: Can't find the games section
Secret weapon: Infinite enthusiasm
The Serious Competitor (13-35 years)
Daily check: Tournament standings and meta analysis
Spreadsheet count: 47 and growing
Frustration level: "Why is competitive info buried in kids' content?"
Quote: "I need damage calculations, not Pikachu dancing"
The Protective Parent
Primary concern: "Is this safe for my kid?"
Secondary concern: "What exactly IS a Pokémon?"
Time on site: 3 minutes (checking safety, then leaving)
What they needed: Clear controls and actual answers
The achievement system that grew with you
Remember when I said kids have infinite enthusiasm? We mobilized it for good. Previously, anyone into Pokémon would only get recognized through tournament play and video games. But there was a whole population that just liked the television show, looked up values in the Pokédex for card play, or had the merch. The idea was we could tag all of those interactions again the central focus of the site: trainers and Pokémon.
The gym leader achievement framework
We created a system where EVERYTHING you did earned progress.
Example: Form Finder Badge
Discover Pokémon with multiple forms
Level 1: Find Deoxys (1 of 23 multi-form Pokémon)Level 2: Find 10 multi-form PokémonLevel 3: Find all 23Reward: 20 points, 2 tokens, bragging rights
The secret? We tracked everything but celebrated selectively. Search for Pikachu? That's progress toward three different badges. Watch a video? Badge progress. Just logging in? Believe it or not, badge progress. Kids were learning the Pokédex without realizing they were learning.
Information architecture that actually made sense
We reorganized everything around what people actually did. Five verbs. Everything fits somewhere. Parents knew exactly where "PLAY" led. Competitors went straight to "COMPETE." Nobody got lost.
Revised Information Hierarchy
The microcopy that made you feel you were in the right place
Every word mattered, especially for parents:
Old 🪦 | New 🌟 |
|---|---|
Sign up for Pokémon Trainer Club! | Join the Pokémon Trainer Club, a safe, moderated community for trainers of all ages |
Error: Invalid username | Oops! That trainer name is taken. Try adding numbers or your favorite Pokémon! |
Parental permission required | Ask a grown-up to help you with this part! |
The results that caught everyone
The achievement system that grew with you
Remember when I said kids have infinite enthusiasm? We mobilized it for good. Previously, anyone into Pokémon would only get recognized through tournament play and video games. But there was a whole population that just liked the television show, looked up values in the Pokédex for card play, or had the merch. The idea was we could tag all of those interactions again the central focus of the site: trainers and Pokémon.
The gym leader achievement framework
We created a system where EVERYTHING you did earned progress.
Example: Form Finder Badge
Discover Pokémon with multiple forms
Level 1: Find Deoxys (1 of 23 multi-form Pokémon)Level 2: Find 10 multi-form PokémonLevel 3: Find all 23Reward: 20 points, 2 tokens, bragging rights
The secret? We tracked everything but celebrated selectively. Search for Pikachu? That's progress toward three different badges. Watch a video? Badge progress. Just logging in? Believe it or not, badge progress. Kids were learning the Pokédex without realizing they were learning.
Information architecture that actually made sense
We reorganized everything around what people actually did. Five verbs. Everything fits somewhere. Parents knew exactly where "PLAY" led. Competitors went straight to "COMPETE." Nobody got lost.
Revised Information Hierarchy
The microcopy that made you feel you were in the right place
Every word mattered, especially for parents:
Old 🪦 | New 🌟 |
|---|---|
Sign up for Pokémon Trainer Club! | Join the Pokémon Trainer Club, a safe, moderated community for trainers of all ages |
Error: Invalid username | Oops! That trainer name is taken. Try adding numbers or your favorite Pokémon! |
Parental permission required | Ask a grown-up to help you with this part! |
The results that caught everyone
Top highlights
Kids collected an average of 47 badges in the first month. That's 47 reasons to come back.
Parents stopped emailing support about safety. The questions answered themselves.
Competitors finally had a home that took them seriously. Tournament participation increased!
What Pokémon taught me about content design
Safety doesn't mean boring. We protected kids without wrapping them in bubble wrap.
Nostalgia is a feature. Adults wanted to feel 10 again. We let them.
Gamification works when it's invisible. The best rewards don't feel like manipulation.
Sometimes the simplest solution is revolutionary. Five simple navigation categories changed everything.
The long game
Five years later, those kindergarteners who couldn't read are now competitive players. The parents who were suspicious are now buying cards for themselves. The platform we built grew with them.
That's the thing about designing for Pokémon, you're not just building for today's users. You're building for who they'll become.
And yes, I still have my Form Finder badge. Level 3, thank you very much.
The stack
Platform: Responsive web
Users: 5M+ registered trainers
Languages: 9 (with region-specific content)
Safety: COPPA compliant, ESRB approved
Badge Economy: 2.4M badges earned in year one
Top highlights
Kids collected an average of 47 badges in the first month. That's 47 reasons to come back.
Parents stopped emailing support about safety. The questions answered themselves.
Competitors finally had a home that took them seriously. Tournament participation increased!
What Pokémon taught me about content design
Safety doesn't mean boring. We protected kids without wrapping them in bubble wrap.
Nostalgia is a feature. Adults wanted to feel 10 again. We let them.
Gamification works when it's invisible. The best rewards don't feel like manipulation.
Sometimes the simplest solution is revolutionary. Five simple navigation categories changed everything.
The long game
Five years later, those kindergarteners who couldn't read are now competitive players. The parents who were suspicious are now buying cards for themselves. The platform we built grew with them.
That's the thing about designing for Pokémon, you're not just building for today's users. You're building for who they'll become.
And yes, I still have my Form Finder badge. Level 3, thank you very much.
The stack
Platform: Responsive web
Users: 5M+ registered trainers
Languages: 9 (with region-specific content)
Safety: COPPA compliant, ESRB approved
Badge Economy: 2.4M badges earned in year one
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