Posted by Eric Medalle on Saturday, February 27, 2016
Eric Medalle, the man who died when a tree fell on his SUV during a Seattle windstorm, was a longtime artist and creative design director for The Pokémon Company International in Bellevue, Wash.
Medalle, 42, was killed in Seattle’s Seward Park on Sunday afternoon when a large tree crushed his BMW X3, according to KING 5. His 2-year-old daughter, Nico, survived the accident with minor injuries. Medalle is survived by another daughter, Isa, 6, and his wife, Carrie, according to a YouCaring crowdfunding page set up for the family.
There’s a Fundraiser for Eric Medalle’s daughters up now. Please pass it on. https://t.co/8GH2XCw8lI
— Pokemon Go News (@PokemonGoNews) March 16, 2016
According to his LinkedIn page, Medalle started at Pokémon in 2003 as a senior graphic designer. He went on to become a design manager in 2008 and rose to his most recent position as creative design director in 2010. He was a 1995 graduate of the University of Michigan.
Bulbapedia, a community-driven encyclopedia of all things Pokémon, credits Medalle with having a hand in several games in the series: “Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire,” English and European graphic design; “Pokémon X and Y,” English and European graphic design; “Pokémon Black and White Versions 2,” English version artwork; “Pokémon Conquest,” graphic design; “Pokémon Black and White Versions,” English version artwork; “Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs,” English-version graphic design; “Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions,” English-version artwork; “Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia,” English version artwork.
Fans of the Pokémon series and Medalle’s work shared their condolences on Twitter.
RIP Eric Medalle, Pokémon’s creative design director, killed in a windstorm.
Cheers for all the great work, buddy. pic.twitter.com/vVq7z577Y4
— Ryan Brown (@Toadsanime) March 16, 2016
We’d like to offer our heartfelt condolences to the family of Eric Medalle, the Creative Design Director at TPCi
— Bulbagarden (@Bulbagarden) March 16, 2016
My condolences to the friends and family of Eric Medalle, and thank you for what you’ve done. https://t.co/0o1DG1loIG
— 火災 Rick (@getRICKTD) March 16, 2016
Eric Medalle, Creative Director at The Pokemon Company, has died in a windstorm accident. https://t.co/M17YCfosnh pic.twitter.com/atmUna9v2L
— RPG Site (@RPGSite) March 16, 2016
@GCPM11 I recently discovered that this man was Eric Medalle. He made the logos for the Pokemon video games, anime and TCG. Rest in peace.
— Giancarlo Parimango (@GCPM11) March 15, 2016
Sad to hear about the passing of the Pokémon artist, Eric Medalle. He was a huge part of why we love Pokémon. RIP. pic.twitter.com/DrOG3QTDko
— Aaron (@AaronJNS) March 16, 2016
Updated: This article has been corrected to properly reflect the ages of Eric Medalle’s daughters.