Pokémon CEO Envisions Wearable Tech as Next Frontier for Franchise

At the inaugural PokémonXP event in San Francisco, Tsunekazu Ishihara discussed how smartphones forced the company to rethink its companion accessories. He suggested future integrations could involve smart watches, glasses, or rings, building on devices like the Pokéwalker and Pokémon GO Plus. The announcement follows the reveal of a Fitbit Air Special Edition tied to Pokémon Sleep.

The Pokéwalker, bundled with Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver in 2009, was a clip-on pedometer that let players transfer a creature to the device and earn experience points through real-world walking. The Pokémon GO Plus, released in 2016, functioned as a Bluetooth accessory that vibrated and lit up to alert players to nearby catches without requiring them to stare at their phones. Both represented early experiments in connecting physical activity to the franchise's core gameplay loop.

Ishihara's remarks arrive as Pokémon Sleep, which gamifies rest by tracking sleep patterns and rewarding players with in-game creatures, already pushes the franchise into health-adjacent territory. The newly announced Fitbit Air Special Edition extends that concept into dedicated fitness hardware. His comments suggest the company views wearables as a natural evolution of its longstanding philosophy of encouraging real-world engagement with the franchise, rather than confining play to screens alone.