Pokemon has always lived on Nintendo hardware, from the original Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow on the Game Boy to the latest entries like Pokemon Legends Z-A on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. But the series also shows up in places Nintendo never planned for – and right now one of the strangest of them is YouTube, where you can actually play a small Pokemon adventure inside a single video.
The timing fits. The franchise is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and Nintendo together with The Pokemon Company has packed 2026 with releases and collaborations: the 30th Celebration Pokemon TCG set, the official reveal of Pokemon Winds and Waves as the Gen 10 games, and a Switch re-release of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. Fans have been joining the party too, and this interactive video is one of the more creative examples.
How the playable YouTube version works
The project was created by YouTubers Atlas Arcade and Firerama. You take control of Ash Ketchum and move around a map split into a grid, drawn in an art style based on the Gen 3 and Gen 4 Pokemon games. Navigation is handled in the most low-tech way imaginable: you copy and paste a timestamp into the video URL, using the number of the zone you want to visit.
There are eight areas in total. Once you finish the events in one of them, you head back to the start of the video and pick another zone.
Encounters, battles and a fishing minigame
Each area can throw different events at you. Sometimes you run into a wild Pikachu or Charmander that you can catch, other times you are forced into a battle with something like Pidgey or Bulbasaur. Fights play out as a timing minigame – you have to stop the video at exactly the right moment to land damage.
The most ambitious part is the fishing rally minigame. You cast a line, reel it in at the right time, and can pull up one of several Water-type Pokemon:
- Magikarp
- Corphish
- Seaking
- Octillery
- Gyarados
Catchable Pokemon also include fan favorites like Eevee, and while exploring you can stumble on rare items from the mainline games, such as a Pearl. If you like seeing what fans can squeeze out of the series, we also covered the Pokemon Emerald Arena ROM hack, and Charmander recently got its own moment in the spotlight thanks to a Pokemon GO free code.
What it means for you
This is a novelty, not a replacement for a real game – YouTube simply does not give creators the tools for anything deeper, so the scope is limited. What you get is a short, clever curiosity you can click through in a browser without installing anything, and a neat showcase of how far a video platform can be pushed.
For something more substantial, official releases may not be far off. Pokemon recently teased Switch ports of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. After FireRed and LeafGreen landed back in February, the rest of the Gen 3 lineup always looked like a matter of time, so that Game Boy Advance nostalgia should soon come from more than a YouTube video.
Want to keep up with everything around the series? We collect it all in our Pokemon news section.
FAQ
It was created by YouTubers Atlas Arcade and Firerama.
You copy and paste a timestamp indicator into the video URL, using the number of the zone you want to explore. There are eight areas in total.
Encounters include Pikachu, Eevee and Charmander, while battles can start against wild Pokemon like Pidgey or Bulbasaur. The fishing minigame can land you Magikarp, Corphish, Seaking, Octillery or Gyarados.
Battles are a timing minigame – you have to stop the video at the right moment to deal damage.
Pokemon recently teased Switch ports of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, following the FireRed and LeafGreen re-release in February.