Before Pokémon Go, Pikachu was always a star under The Pokémon Company

Pokémon is back! Only, of course, it never went away. And after 20 years, we wanted to talk with some of the people responsible for ensuring it maintains its most recent wave of momentum so that no newly newscaster or casual observer can claim the monster-catching brand has ever faded away.

The franchise, which is a massive force in gaming and entertainment, is amid a second phenomenon. Pokémon Go is the top-grossing game on iOS and Android. The Google Maps-powered app has players catching virtual pocket monsters in physical space through the use of GPS. While that game continues to dominate the world, we wanted to take a wider look at the property, which generates $2.1 billion each year, with The Pokémon Company consumer marketing director J.C. Smith.