Uniqlo's next Pokémon 30th anniversary shirts use original Game Boy sprites

Uniqlo will release the second installment of its Pokémon 30th anniversary UT collection in late July. The new lineup focuses entirely on the monochrome pixel art from the 1996 Game Boy originals. Each adult shirt will be priced at 1,990 yen, which converts to roughly $13 USD.

I reported on the first re-release of this collection earlier this year. That initial drop focused heavily on Ken Sugimori's watercolor promotional art. You can read about that first part of the collection right here. This second wave pivots away from the packaging illustrations and goes straight to the actual in-game assets.

Strictly monochrome for adults

The adult sizes in this lineup stick exclusively to the black-and-white dot matrix aesthetic of Pocket Monsters Red and Green. The designs use the original battle sprites and overworld character graphics. The collection highlights the original protagonist, Red, alongside the starter monsters. The tiny overworld sprites used for walking around the Kanto region also make an appearance.

Uniqlo is also releasing kids' sizes, but those versions add modern coloring to the retro pixel art. If you want the authentic, uncolored 1996 Game Boy look, you have to buy the adult sizes.

The original Red and Green sprites are notoriously weird. The hardware limitations of the original Game Boy meant Game Freak had to fit these creature designs into a tiny 56-by-56 pixel grid with only four shades of gray. The resulting artwork gave us a very round Pikachu, a Golbat composed entirely of a giant mouth, and a Machamp that looks like it is actively mutating. The original Game Boy screen was famously difficult to see without perfect lighting. Putting these sprites on a stark white or black t-shirt actually makes them easier to parse than they were on original hardware.

Three decades of Red and Green

The Pokémon franchise officially turns 30 in 2026. The series started on February 27, 1996, with the Japanese release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green. Those games established the core loop of catching, training, and battling that Nintendo and Game Freak have relied on ever since. The international releases followed in 1998, but they used updated sprite work from the Japanese release of Pokémon Blue. That makes the original 1996 Red and Green sprites a very specific slice of gaming history.

Uniqlo's UT line has a long history of tapping into video game nostalgia. The Japanese clothing retailer regularly collaborates with gaming brands. They usually stick to modern character renders or clean vector art. Seeing them pull the raw, unfiltered 1996 sprite work for a major apparel line is a welcome change of pace.

Late July availability

The collection will hit Uniqlo stores and the company's website in late July.

At 1,990 yen, these fall into Uniqlo's standard graphic tee pricing bracket. In United States retail locations, this tier typically translates to $14.90 or $19.90 depending on the specific collaboration. The shirts are 100 percent cotton and follow the usual boxy UT cut. The quality is generally reliable for the price point.

We will likely see more merchandise drops as the actual 30th anniversary date approaches. For now, getting the original, slightly janky Game Boy sprites on a decent shirt is a good start.