What is Pokemon?
Pokemon or Pocket Monsters or Pocket Monsters is a media franchise owned by The Pokemon Company that was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995. It centers on fictional creatures called “Pokemon”, which humans capture and train them to fight against each other like a sport. In real life, it would be as if they were animals and insects captured by humans for an item called “Pokeball” or “Pokeball”.
The name Pokemon ( ) is an abbreviation of the Japanese brand “Pocket Monsters” (AT HEY 74 – Poketto Monsuta). The term Pokemon, in addition to referring to the Pokemon franchise itself, also refers to the 807 fictional species that appear in Pokemon media. The word “Pokemon” is used in both singular and plural for the individual name of each species; correct grammar is “one Pokemon” and “many Pokemon”, as well as “one Pikachu” and “many Pikachu”. (However, in Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, some PCs referred to Clefairy and Diglett in the plural, showing “CLEFAIRYs” and “DIGLETTs” respectively. This was fixed in later games in FireRed and LeafGreen.) “the pokemons” is wrong!
The franchise began with a pair of games released for the original Game Boy, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Currently, the franchise extends into games, trading cards, and television series, in addition to films, manga, and toys. Pokemon is the second most successful and profitable game media franchise in the world, behind the Mario franchise, which is also owned by Nintendo.
In 2006, the franchise celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Game sales (including home console games such as Hey You, Pikachu! for the Nintendo 64) have accumulated over 200 million copies sold. In November 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had secured the licensing of the animated series, announced that it had agreed not to renew the franchise’s representation contract. Pokemon USA Inc. (currently The Pokemon Company International), a subsidiary of Japan’s Pokemon Co., now oversees all Pokemon licenses outside Asia. Until 2013, the Pokemon franchise accumulated 4 trillion around the world (equivalent to US$40.98 billion dollars).
Most Pokemon undergo metamorphoses, evolving into more advanced beings with different aesthetics. Over time they also learn new techniques or attacks, which they can use in combat. Most Pokemon have three stages of evolution, which means that they can undergo up to two transformations, but not all of them, as some do not even have a second stage of evolution.
Pokemon Concept
Satoshi Tajiri had the idea for Pokemon around 1989 or 1990 when the Game Boy was released. The concept of the Pokemon universe was inspired by Executive Director Satoshi Tajiri’s hobby of collecting bugs when he was a child. Players in the games are called Pokemon Trainers, and two of the main goals (in most Pokemon games) for Trainers are: completing the Pokedex by capturing all available Pokemon species; and training your team of Pokemon to compete against other Trainers’ teams and eventually become the strongest Trainer: a Pokemon Master.
The concept of catching, training and battling is present in nearly every version of the Pokemon franchise, including the games, anime, manga series, and trading card game (TCG).
The wild Pokemon
In most Pokemon games, a Trainer who encounters a wild Pokemon is able to capture it using a spherical object called a Poke Ball. If the Pokemon does not escape the Poke Ball, it is officially considered a Trainer. Then, the Pokemon will obey all of its master’s commands, unless the Trainer doesn’t have much experience, to the point where it prefers to act on its own. Trainers can send their Pokemon into battles against other Pokemon; if the opposing Pokemon is wild, it is possible to capture it with a Poke Ball, increasing your team of Pokemon.
However, Pokemon already owned by other Trainers cannot be caught, except under special circumstances in certain games. If a Pokemon defeats the opponent during battle, then the opponent is knocked out (i. e. “faints”). The winning Pokemon earns experience points and can sometimes level up. When a Pokemon levels up, its battle stats are increased. Pokemon can also learn new attacks, which are techniques used in battle. Additionally, many species of Pokemon possess the ability to evolve and transform into stronger species.
The Pokemon World
The creator of the Pokemon World is the legendary Pokemon Arceus. It was he who created Dialga, Palkia and Giratina to be the guardians of time, space, and chaos. After that, Arceus gave life to Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit so that they would later create the willpower, knowledge, and emotions of the little monsters. This group of legendaries is considered the “gods” of the franchise.
In addition, there are several caves and ancient cities that reveal that Pokemon helped form human civilization. The most famous example is the Ruins of Alph, which suggest that humans developed their languages with the help of the most varied forms of the Unown.
The geography of the Pokemon World was created after a duel between the legendary Groudon and Kyogre, who tried to modify the planet, each in their favor. Afterward, the continents were modified again thanks to the interference of Regigigas, who with his strength, created the regions that we know within the Pokemon World. But before the Pokemon caused further changes, it was sealed away by the Regis (who, as far as anyone knows, may have been created by humans in the Sinnoh region. And many of the existing caves within the Pokemon World were the work of land-type Pokemon. A good example is the cave of the Digletts, which is in the Kanto region.
Another point that affects human culture is that there is evidence of an afterlife in the Pokemon World. Not just because of the existence of ghost-type monsters, but all the spirits that have appeared in the franchise’s games, as is the case with the mother of Pokemon Marowak in Lavender City. However, we don’t know if these spirits are real or a mere prank by ghost Pokemon to scare humans. And, of course, we cannot forget that humanity itself ended up creating some little monsters. This is the case of Grimer and Muk, pollution products, for example.
Pokemon Generations
There are several generations of the Pokemon world where new monsters, new attacks, items, and even new locations that had not yet been discovered in previous generations are discovered. Many things are explained in later generations, but Generation I is the most beloved by fans and even by the franchise, as it was thanks to it that the discovery of the Pokemon world began.
Conclusion
- Franchise created by: Satoshi Tajiri, Ken Sugimori, Game Freak & Nintendo
- Original work: Pocket Monsters Red and Green (1996) ~ This was the first release that gave rise to the
world of Pokémon monsters 1- Current owners: Nintendo, Creatures, Game Freak
- Official Site: www.pokemon.co.jp