Filing your taxes just got a whole lot more interesting. Instead of dealing with dry forms and confusing fields, imagine battling gym leaders as you uncover deductions and face off against income and credit categories. That’s the playful experience Open Ledger is bringing to life with PokéTax, a new gamified tax tool designed to make one of the most tedious parts of adult life feel a little more like Saturday morning nostalgia.

PokéTax transforms tax filing into a game inspired by the classic Pokémon Showdown format. Players take on the role of tax filers, going head-to-head with Tax Trainers  each one representing a section of your tax return, from income to deductions to credits. As you answer their questions and complete each battle, you’re actually filling out your tax forms. Once your journey is complete, PokéTax guides you straight to the IRS Direct File system to officially submit your return.

“This is real and it actually works,” said Pryce Adade-Yebesi, co-founder of Open Ledger. “We wanted to take a process that everyone dreads and flip it on its head.”

Open Ledger was founded earlier this year by Adade-Yebesi and Ashtyn Bell, and they’ve already made waves by raising a $3 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures and Black Ventures. While PokéTax might have started as a side project meant to spark some laughs, it quickly turned into something much bigger  and surprisingly practical.

“We asked ourselves if we could actually build something this ridiculous but also genuinely useful,” said Adade-Yebesi. “Turns out we could.”

What started as a joke quickly gained traction as the team leaned into the idea of using game mechanics to make an otherwise painful task more bearable. The PokéTax experience includes an AI assistant that helps sort user responses in real time. As players progress, they can earn badges by discovering new deductions and applying them strategically  making the experience both interactive and informative.

Gamifying personal finance isn’t entirely new, but it’s still rare to see it applied to something as dense and regulation-heavy as taxes. Open Ledger’s approach taps into a growing trend of financial tools trying to become more user-centric, particularly for younger generations who have grown up with games and apps that are built to engage.

There’s historical precedent too. In 2023, a quirky visual novel game called Tax Heaven 3000 went viral for turning tax prep into a dating sim  players would go on a date with an AI character named Iris, who would ask questions to help complete their 1040. But that was a one-off and only worked for the 2022 tax year. PokéTax aims to be a repeatable, annual tool that evolves and updates alongside tax code changes and user feedback.

At its core, PokéTax is still a serious product, even if it wears a playful mask. The software is open source, a deliberate move by Open Ledger to encourage transparency and invite developers to contribute or build upon the idea. It’s also designed with security and accuracy in mind  because no one wants to joke around with the IRS.

The launch comes at a time when more Americans are warming up to filing their taxes online and looking for simpler, more direct experiences. While legacy platforms like TurboTax and H&R Block continue to dominate the space, there’s growing interest in streamlined, user-friendly alternatives  especially among digital natives and self-employed professionals who want to handle their finances without the friction.

What sets Open Ledger apart isn’t just the tech or the novelty. It’s the team’s broader mission to make financial processes feel less intimidating and more accessible. As Adade-Yebesi puts it, “We want these experiences to be more engaging and way less soul-sucking.”

With PokéTax, they may have found the sweet spot  turning tax season into a challenge rather than a chore, while still helping users get real work done. And if it makes people laugh along the way, all the better.

Whether or not PokéTax becomes your go-to filing tool, it certainly signals a shift in how we think about financial software. It doesn’t have to be cold, complex, or exhausting. Sometimes, it can feel like a game  with a refund at the end of the tunnel.