Pokémon (video game series)

**Pokémon** is a Japanese video game franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri for Nintendo in the 1990s. It is known as _Pocket Monsters_ in Japan. The Pokémon franchise is now made up of animated television programs (anime), Japanese comic books (manga), trading cards, and toys but, most importantly, the video games. There are currently 1025 monsters, with _Pokémon Scarlet_ and _Violet_. Pikachu is the most well-known Pokémon. When the idea was invented, there were only 150 Pokémon, which was upgraded to 151 (including Mew) when the Blue version in Japan was released. In the United States and Europe, the number of Pokémon was 151 from the beginning. There are now over 1000 altogether.

The Pokémon games involve making decisions about what to do and when to do it, also know as turn-based battling. They allow the player to catch the monsters, train them to make them better and attack other monsters so that they get better abilities and possibly evolve into different Pokémon. It is also possible to trade Pokémon with a friend. The Pokémon in the battles never bleed or die; they only faint. All Pokémon love human beings, except for Shadow Pokémon - the doors to their hearts have been artificially closed. The game's slogan in the U.S. was "Gotta catch 'em all!", although now it is not used officially any more. The Japanese slogan is "Let's get Pokémon". Over one hundred million (100,000,000) of the games have been sold so far, not counting the ones released for the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo GameCube. This makes it the second best-selling video game series of all time (after Nintendo's Mario series).

## Pokémon video games (by year)

There is a sequence of games that is considered to be the "main series" in this line of games. These games are RPG style games, and are always feature new Pokémon, in a new region, with a new Protagonist, or are a remake in some way of a previous man series game. They are marked below with an *

### First generation

- _Pocket Monsters: Red_ and _Green_<small>(Game Boy)</small>
- _*Pocket Monsters: Blue_ <small>(Game Boy)</small>
- *_Pokémon Red_ and _Blue_ <small>(Game Boy)</small>
- <small> (Nintendo 64)</small>
- _*Pokémon Yellow_ <small>(Game Boy)</small>
- _Pokémon Trading Card Game_ <small> (Game Boy Color)</small>
- _Pokémon Gold_ and _Silver_ <small> (Game Boy Color)</small>
- _Pokémon Stadium 2_ <small> – known as _Pokémon Stadium_ in US and Europe (Nintendo 64)</small>

### Second generation

- _*Pokémon Crystal_ <small>(Game Boy Color)</small>
- _Pokémon Snap_ <small>(Nintendo 64)</small>
- _Pokémon Puzzle Challenge_ <small>(Game Boy Color)</small>
- _Pokémon Puzzle League_ <small> (Nintendo 64)</small>
- _Hey You, Pikachu!_ <small> (Nintendo 64)</small>
- _Pokémon Stadium Kin Gin_ <small>– known as _Pokémon Stadium 2_ in US and Europe  (Nintendo 64)</small>

### Third generation

- _Pokémon Ruby_ and _Sapphire_ <small> (Game Boy Advance)</small>
- _Pokémon Colosseum_ <small> (Nintendo GameCube)</small>
- _*Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire_ <small>(Nintendo GameCube)</small>
- _Pokémon Channel_ <small>(Nintendo GameCube)</small>
- *_Pokémon FireRed_ and _LeafGreen_ <small>(Game Boy Advance)</small>
- _*Pokémon Emerald_ <small>(Game Boy Advance)</small>
- _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team_ <small>(Game Boy Advance)</small>
- _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team_ <small> (Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Dash_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Trozei!_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness_ <small> (Nintendo GameCube)</small>
- _Pokémon Ranger_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>

### Fourth generation

- _Pokémon Diamond_ and _Pearl_ <small> (Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Battle Revolution_ <small> (Wii)</small>
- _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _My Pokémon Ranch_ <small> (Wii)</small>
- _*Pokémon Platinum_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Poképark Wii_<small> (Wii)</small>
- _Pokémon Rumble_<small> (Wii)</small>
- _Pokémon HeartGold_ and _SoulSilver_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>

### Fifth generation

- _Pokémon Black_ and _White_ <small> (Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Conquest_ <small> (Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Black 2_ and _White 2_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>

### Sixth generation

- _Pokémon X_ and _Y_ <small> (Nintendo 3DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Omega Ruby_ and _Alpha Sapphire_ <small>(Nintendo 3DS)</small>

### Seventh generation

- _Pokémon Sun_ and _Moon_ <small> (Nintendo 3DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Ultra Sun_ and _Ultra Moon_ <small>(Nintendo 3DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu!_ and _Let's Go, Eevee!_ <small>(Nintendo Switch)</small>

### Eighth generation

- _Pokémon Sword_ and _Shield_ <small> (Nintendo Switch)</small>
- _Pokémon Brilliant Diamond_ and _Shining Pearl_ <small>(Nintendo DS)</small>
- _Pokémon Legends: Arceus_ <small>(Nintendo Switch)</small>

### Ninth generation

- _Pokémon Scarlet_ and _Violet_ <small>(Nintendo Switch)</small>
- _Pokémon Legends: Z-A_ <small>(Nintendo Switch)</small>

## History

The first games, released in 1998, were _Pokémon Red and Blue_, which became big hits and are still among the best-selling video games of all time. They followed the adventures of the player, a Pokémon trainer who catches, raises, and battles with Pokémon, collects badges from the 8 Gym Leaders, explores all over Kanto (the region), and trades Pokémon with other people who have the game by using the Game Boy's Game Link Cable. Later, a sequel to _Red_ and _Blue_ was released: _Pokémon Yellow_. In this game, the player's character design is similar to Ash Ketchum (from the anime.) Also, instead of the Pokémon given to the player at the start of _Red_ and _Blue_ (the player can choose Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle) in _Yellow_ the only possible choice is Pikachu, which represents the Pokémon Ash started with in the anime.

When Nintendo realized how popular _Red_, _Blue_, and _Yellow_ had become, they decided to support the production and release of more games. After _Yellow_ came _Pokémon Gold and Silver_, released in 2000, which had a total of 251 catchable Pokémon, as opposed to only 151 previously. A sequel to the two games was released, _Pokémon Crystal_, which had several new features that were not on _Gold_ and _Silver_: Pokémon had animated sprites when they came into battle, there was a subplot within the games relating to the different letter shapes of the Pokémon Unown, and there was a new building called the Battle Tower, where players could battle very strong Pokémon to win items and set records. Once the player has beaten the Elite Four, they can go to Kanto, the region in _Red_, _Blue_, and _Yellow_.

In 2003, _Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire_ were released. They were the first _Pokémon_ games on the Game Boy Advance, and this upset many players because they could not trade Pokémon with _Red_, _Blue_, _Yellow_, _Gold_, _Silver_, or _Crystal_. However, there were 135 new Pokémon, bringing the total to 386. There were many new features, like a PokéNav (a new item used for many ingame tasks), many more kinds of Poké Balls, a far bigger region (Hoenn) than in previous games (Kanto and Johto), and a Battle Tower different from the one in _Crystal_. Players could also create Secret Bases, small hideouts hidden in trees and rock walls.

Later in 2004, _Pokémon Fire Red & Leaf Green_ were released. They did not take place in a new region, and they did not have any new Pokémon. They were simply remakes of _Pokémon Red & Blue_, adding a new place with missions and adventures called the Sevii Islands, and a few new features. However, they made it possible for players of _Ruby_ and _Sapphire_ to get earlier Pokémon in their games. If a person had _Ruby_, _Sapphire_, _Colosseum_, _FireRed_, and _LeafGreen_ (which many fans of the games did), they could have all 386 Pokémon, which made many players happy.

In 2005, _Pokémon Emerald_ was released. It is a sequel to _Ruby_ and _Sapphire_. It was the first "main" _Pokémon_ game since _Crystal_ where Pokémon had battle animations instead of static images. There was also a new place called the Battle Frontier where players could go after they beat the Elite Four. It was similar to the Battle Tower in _Crystal_, _Ruby_, and _Sapphire_, except it was eight different facilities, all with different rules. Players earned Battle Points which could be used to buy items for Secret Bases, items for Pokémon, and other things.

In 2007, _Pokémon Diamond and Pearl_ were released. They take place in a new region called Sinnoh. They had 107 new Pokémon, which brought the total to 493. Another noticeable difference from the previous games was that _Diamond_ and _Pearl_ did not capitalize all the letters in names of Pokémon, people, towns, items, and other things that were important to the games. For example, Lugia would appear as "LUGIA" in previous games, but in _Diamond_ and _Pearl_ it would just say "Lugia." This cleared up a lot of players' confusion, because many thought that a sentence like "LUGIA is found in the WHIRL ISLANDS" looked unusual. A sequel to _Diamond_ and _Pearl_, _Pokémon Platinum_ was released in the United States in March 2009. In May 2009 it was released in the UK.

In 2010, _Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver_ were released. They did not take place in a new region, or have any new Pokémon. They were simply remakes of _Pokémon Gold and Silver_. Like _Pokémon Yellow_, the player's Pokémon can follow them. The games come with a pedometer like device, called the Poké Walker, that can let players walk with their Pokémon, and gain Watts, which can be used to fight Pokémon, or dowse for items.

Later in 2010, _Pokémon Black and White_ were released. They take place in a new region called Unova. They had 156 new Pokémon, bringing the total to 649. They introduced seasons, where areas appear differently depending on the season, and some areas can only be reached during certain seasons.

In 2012, _Pokémon Black 2 & White 2_ were released. They are sequels to _Pokémon Black_ and _White_. They had a number of new areas and characters, as well as characters from _Black_ and _White_.

In 2013, _Pokémon X & Y_ were released. They are the first ever 3D games in the main _Pokémon_ series. They take place in a new region called Kalos. There are many new features, including the Mega Evolution, where some Pokémon like Mewtwo, Blaziken, and Lucario are be able to evolve into stronger forms during a battle if they are holding a Mega Stone. There is also a new type called Fairy, which is strong against Dragon-type Pokémon.

In 2014, _Pokémon Omega Ruby_ and _Alpha Sapphire_ were released, which were remakes of _Ruby_ and _Sapphire_. it added more mega evolutions, including the other hoenn starters, beedrill, Sableye, etc. tons of features were also added.

In 2016, _Pokémon Sun_ and _Moon_ were released, which introduced people to a new region, Alola. there were a total of 803 (including mythical's). however, only 403 are in the Alolan pokedex, with the others being able to be transferred from past games. rotom is now your pokedex, called the rotomdex, and z moves were introduced. Z moves does a lot of damage, but can only be done once per battle. Gyms, and gym leaders were taken out, and were replaced with totem pokemons, and island kahunas. a lot of features were added including SOS battles, where a wild Pokémon send out help to exactly the same Pokémon (or evolutions) to help when weakened.

In 2017, _Pokémon Ultra Sun_ and _Ultra Moon_ were released, which was like _Sun_ & _Moon_, but more features were added. it increased the Pokémon number to 807, and added ultra wormholes, where different Pokémon are seen and caught, which made shiny hunting very easy and accessible.

In 2018, Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! were released.

In 2019, Pokémon Sword and Shield were released.

In 2021, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were released.

In 2022, Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were released.

The next game in the series, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is scheduled for a late 2025 release.

## Criticism

The newer Pokémon games have been criticized for being very similar and not making enough changes to the gameplay, along with various technical glitches and bugs becoming noticeable starting with _Pokémon Sword and Shield_. Because of this, some players have stopped playing Pokémon and moved to indie games that are also monster tamer games, as they are perceived as “better” and more innovative than Pokémon. Examples of said indie monster tamers include _Temtem_, _Cassette Beasts_, _Coromon_, and _Palworld_.

## Other websites

- The Official Site (United States)
- The Official Site (Japan)