An Illustrated Book of POCKET MONSTERS

An Illustrated Book of POCKET MONSTERS (Japanese: ポケットモンスター図鑑 Pocket Monsters Illustrated Book) is a Japanese Pokémon illustrated guidebook that was released in April 1996, shortly after the release of , the first Pokémon games. It was produced by Creatures, Inc. and published by .
The book includes illustrations of the Pokémon, as well as biological information about Pokémon and their habitats.
==Title==
The word 図鑑 zukan in this book's title refers to an illustrated reference book or a . It is normally localized as Pokédex in English Pokémon media, especially ポケモン図鑑 (Pokémon Zukan).
==Editions==
The book was reprinted numerous different times. The book's final page specifies the book's edition and release date, as well as the release date of the first edition. The differences between the different editions (if any) are unknown.
Edition	Release date
1st 	5 April 1996
2nd 	15 July 1996
3rd 	unknown
4th 	25 October 1996
5th 	unknown
6th 	7 February 1997
7th 	unknown
8th 	unknown
9th 	unknown
10th 	14 July 1997
==Trivia==
* In the lore provided by this book, it is described how Pokémon study was started by a 16th century French author named "Baron Tajirin". This character is named after Pokémon's creator, Satoshi Tajiri. Later in the introduction, it is said that a certain "Professor Nishinomori" was the father of Japanese Pokémon study, "Nishinomori" being a combination of the names of Koji Nishino and Ken Sugimori, both of whom played a key role in the development of Pokémon Red and Green.
** Professor Nishinomori's descendant appeared in the animated series in the episode The Evolution Solution. The English dub named him Professor Westwood V, with "Westwood" being a literal translation of "Nishinomori" ("nishi" meaning west and "mori" meaning forest or woods).
* The introduction states that in Baron Tajirin's time only 30 Pokémon had been discovered. This is likely a reference to how, when developing Pokémon Red and Green, Satoshi Tajiri thought the Game Boy carts would only have room for 30 Pokémon, which was described in Tajiri's biographical manga.
* The introduction states that 150 Pokémon have been discovered through the work of Professor Oak as of 1996.
* The fact that researchers have been arguing over 's classification for six years appears to be a nod to how Pokémon Red and Green took six years to develop.
* 's entry describes how smokers use its tail's flame to light up their cigarette, something which was later shown off in a set of playing cards illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno and published in Corocoro Comics in late 1996.
* In Showdown at Dark City, the Pokédex mentions that and can both distinguish colors, and that they are enraged by the color red, details which were only seen in this book. Prior to the Japanese Pokémon Blue, they were both exclusive to Red.
** An old Electabuzz card however mentions that the Pokémon likes the color red.
* 's entry contains an overt reference to Koji Nishino, as it describes how it got its Japanese name because it is capable of digesting moldy food. Indeed, "Kabi" is the Japanese word for mold, and Snorlax got its Japanese name "Kabigon" because it is a caricature of Nishino, who was said to eat almost anything he found, even if it was moldy.
* In 's entry, its habitat is described as unknown, perhaps because first partner Pokémon cannot be found in the wild. As for its "long neck", it has never been seen, but was mentioned a handful of times across the series, such as in its Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon Sword Pokédex entries, and in Here Comes the Squirtle Squad.
* 's entry has its Japanese alias name アルキメンデス Arukimendesu and states that it spreads pollen as it walks, instead of seeds as described in many of its Pokédex entries such as its Red and Blue ones.
* The entry for refers to female Kangaskhan only, implying the existence of male Kangaskhan.
* The nickname "gangster of the sea" in 's entry was only ever mentioned elsewhere in , by Ash's Pokédex in Tentacool & Tentacruel.
* As mentioned in 's entry, this Pokémon does have wings, though they are extremely small, much like real-life kiwi birds. They were only referenced in its Pokémon Yellow and Pokédex entries.
* The short story mentioned in 's entry, "The Metamorphosis", is an overt reference to Franz Kafka's "", in which a man wakes up one morning, only to realize that he's turned into a giant insect. Here, the little boy's story is presented as being fiction, whereas the in-game Pokédex entries tell it as if it really happened.
* In ' entry, the idea of drinking phoenix blood to gain immortality isn't taken from any real-life myth, but is rather an homage to "", a manga series by .
* The entry for members of the Nidoran lines makes direct reference to 's ability to produce Eggs, and 's inability to do so. This is consistent with Nidorina and being unable to breed ever since the mechanic was introduced in (which would be released years later). Baby Nidoran are also mentioned, and they were later seen on a 1997 ad for Pokémon Battoen.
* In its entry, is said to have been created by Silph Co. in 1995.
* According to an illustration, is the fastest swimmer of the Kanto Pokémon, reaching speeds above 90 kilometres per hour. Additionally, 's swim speed is somewhere between 30 km/h and 60 km/h. 
* In the entries for Pokémon which evolve through trade evolution, it is mentioned that researchers are not certain what could be triggering these Pokémon's evolution. The same is also true for Pokémon that evolve by Evolution stone, with the Pokémon's description only making note that its evolution appears to require "a special stone".
==External links==
* Archive.org scan (6th edition)
* DidYouKnowGaming? video covering the book's contents (part 1)
* DidYouKnowGaming? (part 2)
* DidYouKnowGaming? (part 3)
* Blogspot article covering the book (Japanese)
==References==
==Related articles==
Category:Books
es:Pocket Monsters Encyclopedia
it:Pocket Monsters zukan
ja:ポケットモンスター図鑑
zh:宝可梦图鉴（1996年书籍）