Pokemon Designer James Turner Joins The Pokemon Company International
James Turner, the UK-born designer known for creating Pokemon such as Vanilluxe, Golurk, Trevenant, and Pheromosa, announced on August 25 that he has joined The Pokemon Company International as creative director for Pokemon art and design. Turner began his career at Genius Sonority, where he worked on Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, and later joined Game Freak, becoming the first Westerner to design Pokemon starting with Pokemon Black and White. He also served as art director for Pokemon Sword and Shield. Turner left Game Freak in 2022 and founded his independent studio, All Possible Futures, which released the action game The Plucky Squire in 2024 with Devolver Digital. The game received a "Very Positive" rating on Steam based on 2,700 reviews. Despite leaving Game Freak, Turner continued working with the franchise on projects like the Pikachu ex SAR for the Pokemon Trading Card Game's "MEGA Dream ex," Pokemon pet goods, and stop-motion animation art. He now returns to the franchise in a full-time role, working alongside other former Game Freak staff at The Pokemon Company, including Junichi Masuda.