Pokémon is a huge hit because it’s cooperative - The Verge

Alongside trading, players could also set up battles between the pokémon they caught and trained in their games.

For example, Pokémon Stadium, released just two years after Red and Green, brought battles to the forefront.

It allowed players to “rent” pokémon from an in-game library, letting friends fight friends without having to first catch and train them alone.

Pokémon X and Y brought the Wonder Trade, allowing players to upload a random pokémon and receive one in return.

The latest entries, Sword and Shield, introduced Max Raid pokémon, giant monsters that required cooperation with others to take down, and campsites that friends could visit to hang out in.

And where Wonder Trade and Max Raid features leaned into the collaboration encouraged from the earliest days of the franchise, Pokémon Go sold it as a core concept.

Its original announcement trailer showed families playing together, solo players meeting to trade, and huge group battles.

According to mobile analytics company Sensor Tower, in 2019, it netted just $23 million, compared to Pokémon Go’s almost $900 million in the same year.

In fact, this was an increase over Pokémon Go’s launch in 2016, indicating its longevity.

The key thing that Pokémon has that Harry Potter doesn’t is two and a half decades of community building.