The Pokémon franchise has remained immensely popular since its inception in the mid to late ’90s, but according to The Pokémon Company’s COO Takato Utsunomiya, the overall goal is to have it endure for centuries.

In an interview with The Guardian, Utsunomiya states that he spends “all day every day” thinking about Pokémon, working to ensure that the brand has long-term longevity:

“My job? I spend all day every day thinking about Pokémon. Our goal is to keep Pokémon alive for hundreds of years – making sure it survives well past our lifetimes.”

It seems reasonable to want such a beloved brand to remain relevant for such a long time, but just consider what “hundreds of years” really means. It’s an awful long time. Take William Shakespeare, for instance: the playwright was active at the turn of the 17th century or, in other words, “hundreds of years” ago. Yet his work is still studied and enjoyed to this very day. It takes something truly special to remain relevant after such a length of time; is Pokémon really capable of the same?

It’s not really for us to say. Ultimately, the fans will decide, but for now, it seems like the Pokémon train isn’t slowing down any time soon. Indeed, this is despite some very well-documented technical issues with the franchise’s latest mainline games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Utsunomiya also loosely touched on this subject in the interview, stating that “we can’t always be 100% aligned with what parts of the community are asking for”:

“Regardless of whether we publicly respond, we’re always paying very close attention to the feedback and conversations happening in the communities. There are certain aspects where we can’t always be 100% aligned with what parts of the community are asking for and what we want to provide. But we do this with the desire to keep Pokémon going for a very long time, and I believe that the fans and players are aligned with us in that respect.”

For those who felt particularly aggrieved by Scarlet and Violet’s issues, this statement might not provide the most comfort, but there’s no denying that whatever The Pokémon Company is doing right now, sales for the franchise haven’t suffered.