Pokemon GO to celebrate Dia De Muertos in 2022: All you need to know

Pokemon is inspired by the childhood tradition of collecting bugs - popular during Japan's hot and humid summer holidays and part of its enduring appeal is its simple goal: to catch them all. Hundreds of round-eyed "pocket monsters" inspired by everything from mice to dragons can be caught and trained to full strength in battles.

The winning concept has sold countless toys, film tickets and more than 30 billion Pokemon cards since the first black-and-white Game Boy titles were released in Japan in 1996. The character's signature pronouncement "pika-pika" - meaning shiny and sparkly in Japanese only added to the bright yellow creature's powers of attraction.

While real-life 25th-anniversary celebrations are off the cards due to the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual concert featuring US rapper Post Malone - described as a lifelong Pokemon fan is planned.

The game allows players to roam the outside world throwing Pokeballs to capture monsters that pop up on their phone screens. It has caused real-life mishaps from car crashes to clifftop falls, but it's still easy to find players on Tokyo's streets waiting for "wild" Pokemon to appear.

"It feels like you are catching the Pokemon, for real," said Tsuyoshi Aihori, 22, who was on the hunt in Tokyo's Akihabara gaming district on a weekday afternoon. He plays around five hours a week and at a recent promotional event, "I played from dawn to dusk and caught 400 or 500 Pokemon," he told AFP.