Pokemon biology has been one of the great pseudosciences, with some fan books going into great detail on the ins and outs of some of your favorite Pokemon. Japan and Nintendo, however, have actually taken this a step further and created the Pokemon Fossil Exhibit. The exhibit featured sculpted Pokemon “skeletons” displayed alongside real dinosaur fossils, and has been traveling across Japan since its creation. The Pokemon Company has confirmed the exhibit is coming to North America in May 2026.
The exhibit is heading to Chicago’s Field Museum on May 22, 2026. It’ll be the first time the exhibition will be seen outside of Japan. It is currently at Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum in Katsuyama, Fukui. Its next stop will be the Benex Dinosaur Museum in Nagasaki.
“During your visit, you’ll see vibrant Pokemon models side by side with extinct lifeforms from the Field Museum’s collection–including scientific casts of Field Museum dinosaurs like Sue the T. Rex and the Chicago Archaeopteryx next to Fossil Pokemon like Tyrantrum and Archeops,” the museum said in a statement. “How many differences (and similarities) will you spot, Trainers?”
While Japan might be out of some people’s travel budget and the exhibit’s arrival in Chicago is still a year away, fans can “walk through” the exhibit right now. The Pokémon Company and Toyohashi Museum of Natural History have made it possible to take a virtual tour around the exhibit to see the collection.
