Fender and The Pokémon Company are releasing two electric guitars for the 30th anniversary of Red and Green: a "Red Version" Stratocaster and a "Green Version" Telecaster, both made in Japan and priced at 396,000 yen each, roughly $2,500. Sales run through a lottery on Japan's Pokémon Center Online from November 19 to 24, 2026, with delivery in 2027.
After the Polaroid camera, the Crocs and the Beats speaker, the 30th anniversary wave just reached the music world. The announcement dropped on October 30, and as usual with these collaborations, everything that matters happens in Japan: yen pricing, a lottery on Tokyo time, terms in Japanese. Here is what's confirmed, with the schedule converted to UTC and Eastern Time, and an honest answer to the question everyone asks: can you actually get one outside Japan?
Which Fender Pokemon guitars are coming for the 30th anniversary?
Two models, one per 1996 cartridge: the Made in Japan Pokémon "Red Version" Stratocaster in red, and the Made in Japan Pokémon "Green Version" Telecaster in green. The bodies carry the original Game Boy graphics as pixel art, trainer and starters included, like a game screen frozen into the finish.
My favorite detail: the pickguard carries a pixelated "Pocket Monsters" logo and shifts color depending on the viewing angle, with a fluorescent sheen visible in the press photos. The neck plate is engraved with a 30th anniversary pixel logo. Nothing about it feels like a sticker job: this is a real Japanese-built Fender, not a toy in disguise.
The reference lands differently outside Japan: Green never shipped in the West. North America got Red and Blue in September 1998, with Charizard and Blastoise on the boxes, while Japan had been choosing between Charizard and Venusaur since February 1996. These two guitars replay that exact choice.
How much do the Fender Pokemon guitars cost?
396,000 yen each, tax included, which works out to roughly $2,500 to $2,600 depending on the exchange rate in early November 2026. That's high-end Japanese Fender territory, no surprise for a limited run like this, but it is by far the most expensive collaboration of the anniversary year.
| Model | Pokémon "Red Version" Stratocaster | Pokémon "Green Version" Telecaster |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Red burst | Green burst |
| Box art echoed | Red (Charizard, in Japan and the West alike) | Green (Venusaur, Japan only) |
| Pickups | Dedicated single-coils, voiced for power | Dedicated single-coils, crisp highs and balance |
| Built in | Japan | Japan |
| Price | ¥396,000 incl. tax (approx. $2,500) | ¥396,000 incl. tax (approx. $2,500) |
For scale against the other 30th anniversary collaborations: the Crocs ran $50 to $80, the Pokémon Beats Pill ended up around 220 to 250 euros once imported to Europe, and the full Polaroid bundle reached 473 euros. Fender multiplies all of that by five. Different league: this is a collector's instrument, not fan merch.
How does the 8-bit sound on these guitars work?
Each guitar ships with an "8-Bit Sound System": press the volume knob and an 8-bit sound layer stacks on top of the guitar's normal output, straight out of a Game Boy speaker. Play a riff, and the guitar answers with the grain of the 1996 games. Audio samples are up on the Japanese Pokémon Center feature page.
Fender didn't put identical electronics in the two models: the Stratocaster gets high-output single-coils voiced for punch, the Telecaster gets pickups tuned for sharp highs and a more classic balance. The Japanese announcement leans into the parallel: "just like choosing your cartridge 30 years ago," says the 30th anniversary page, whose current theme is literally "choose." Red or Green, power or finesse, you'll have to pick, at $2,500 a choice.
How does the November 19 to 24 lottery work?
Entries open Thursday, November 19, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Japan time, which is 3:00 a.m. UTC, or 10:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday the 18th. They close Tuesday, November 24 at 4:59 p.m. Japan time, 7:59 a.m. UTC. Everything runs on Pokémon Center Online, the Japanese web store, and a draw decides who gets to buy: being first means nothing here.
Three requirements: a Pokémon Center Online account, phone number verification, and one entry per person. Creating an account alone does not count as entering, the site is explicit about that. Winners will be announced later on the same site, and delivery is scheduled for sometime in 2027, with no firmer date yet.
Can you buy a Fender Pokemon guitar outside Japan?
Not through the direct route, at least not yet. The November lottery runs on the Japanese store, built around domestic delivery and local phone verification. On the American side, pokemon.com's own news post says pre-orders "will open soon" on Pokémon Center, with no date and no price, and that store only ships to the US, Canada and the UK. For continental Europe, nothing is announced as of November 2, 2026.
That leaves the usual workarounds: a friend in Japan, a proxy service entering the lottery for you, or the resale market in 2027. The Beats Pill scenario will repeat itself, only worse: a lottery-only item that never shipped to Europe climbs above its retail price fast. If you go through a middleman, insist on the Pokémon Center invoice and the certificate, because fakes will follow. They always do.
And if the real goal is putting Kanto on a shelf, there's no need to wait for a Japanese draw: a Charizard crystal LED Poké Ball, a direct nod to Red's box art, a Bulbasaur crystal Poké Ball for Green's lineage, or a Blastoise Poké Ball on a wood stand for Blue's cover, cost 29.99 euros each and light up every evening, no lottery involved.
What comes in the box with the Fender Pokemon guitars?
Each guitar ships in a hardshell case created for the collaboration, with a metal tin holding eleven picks, ten decorated with Pokémon pixel art and one stamped with the 30th anniversary logo, plus a certificate of authenticity illustrated with newly drawn artwork. The case and the pick tin are not sold separately.
That level of finish, certificate included, confirms where The Pokémon Company has been heading since February: the brand increasingly speaks to the thirty-somethings who grew up with Red and Blue, and the 30th anniversary product list keeps growing every month. The Fender guitars sit at the very top of its price range, at least until the next announcement.
Sources: the announcement on pokemon.com and the lottery details on Famitsu. Images: Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and The Pokémon Company.
Want something that glows while you wait for 2027? The 29 models in the light-up Poké Ball collection ship without any lottery, free delivery across Europe.