The Pokémon Company's ongoing 30th-anniversary celebrations have included a new publication, the Deluxe Character Book, which serves as a high-quality compendium of the franchise's creatures. The book is currently available for $41.98, a 30% discount from its $59.99 list price. A more expensive limited edition box set is also an option.
The Deluxe Character Book features a premium build, notable for its gold-lined pages and cover art depicting a collage of Pokémon rendered in gold and silver line art. Pikachu is prominently featured in full color on the inner cover and throughout the book. The publication begins with a foreword from Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokémon Company, expressing gratitude to fans and featuring a color image of Exeggutor, his personal favorite Pokémon.
An introduction follows, outlining the 30-year history of the Pokémon franchise and aiming to encompass information from across its various segments. The bulk of the book functions as an encyclopedia, presenting each Pokémon in numerical Pokédex order, from Bulbasaur to Pecharunt. Chapters are largely organized by region, with each starting page offering a brief overview of the region's significance in the games, anime, and Trading Card Game (TCG).
Dedicated chapters are set aside for Pikachu, "New Discoveries," and Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. These special sections utilize distinct page colors and corner labels for easy navigation, complemented by an alphabetical index at the back for quick lookups of individual Pokémon.
For each of the 1,025 Pokémon included, the book provides a sprite image, English and Japanese names, and a data table. This table includes their Category, Type, Gender, Related Pokémon (listing evolutions and alternate forms), Height and Weight, and Characteristics. The "Characteristics" section offers new, sentence-long descriptions for each Pokémon, distinct from their typical Pokédex entries.
While all Pokémon receive this basic information, some are given more extensive coverage. Pikachu has a dedicated five-page chapter. Every "First Partner Pokémon," or starter Pokémon from the mainline games, receives a full-page spread detailing its evolutionary line. Other specific Pokémon, such as Gastly, Gengar, Ralts, Gardevoir, and Wobuffet, also get full-page entries, breaking the pattern of solely featuring three-stage evolutions.
These more detailed entries aim to incorporate information from the games, anime, and TCG. For instance, a Wobuffet page might include screenshots and descriptions of its appearances in the anime, images of various TCG cards, and specific details about its in-game representations, such as Quiz Wobuffet from the GameCube title Pokémon Channel. The book synthesizes existing information rather than presenting new facts, making it a valuable resource for fans who may not be fully up-to-date on all aspects of the franchise.
While the comprehensive nature of the book is lauded, the selective nature of these expanded entries has been noted. The book dedicates significant space to popular or mascot Pokémon, a practice that The Pokémon Company sometimes faces criticism for. Despite this, the Deluxe Character Book is regarded as a successful homage to the full Pokémon franchise.