Pokémon

Original work
 Owner
Creatures
 Short stories
 Film(s)
 Short film(s)
 Animated series
 Television special(s)
*The Legend of Thunder* (2001)
 Television film(s)
 Musical(s)
 Traditional
 Video game(s)
 Soundtrack(s)
 Theme park

**Pokémon** (Japanese: **ポケットモンスター** *Pocket Monsters*, **ポケモン** *Pokémon*for short), sometimes shortened to **PKMN**, is an overarching media franchise owned by Nintendo, Creatures, Inc., and Game Freak. First appearing in 1996 with the release of its first entries on the Game Boy[1], the game series has since inspired an array of media, including an anime, a card game, numerous manga, and various spin-off games.

The series focuses on the creatures known as Pokémon, as well as their inhabited world, full of legends, tales, and adventures. Several interpretations of the world explore different themes and elements. Most commonly, Pokémon coexist with humans and can be caught, trained, and used in battles and other activities. Trainers, along with their Pokémon, travel across diverse lands aiming to make their dreams become reality.

## Biology

Much as happens with many other words and phrases borrowed from English, the Japanese name for the series, Pocket Monsters, became contracted into "Pokémon" during the development of the original games, likely as much for convenience when referring to it as to save on screen real estate, considering the small size of the Game Boy's screen. The official romanization of "Pokémon" at this time was derived from the contraction of **Po**c**ke**t and **Mon**ster, and can be seen explicitly in *Primeape Goes Bananas*, even in the dub.

The "Pokémon" name used today came about during the translation of the games for an English audience during 1997 and 1998. Whereas in Japan, Pocket Monsters was easily able to be trademarked, the release in America would prove difficult had this name been used, due to the unrelated Monster in My Pocket franchise. Thus, an alternate romanization of the contraction was used, with an acute accentover the e to indicate its specific pronunciation, *poh-kay-mohn*. Despite this issue, however, the fact that Pokémon is short for Pocket Monsters has been referenced in English, with an NPC in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum asking the player what Pokémon is short for after thinking about the name of the Pokétch, itself a contraction, as well as on the back of the DVD set containing the first, second, and third movies.

## Franchise

Pokémon, as a series, was originally conceived by Satoshi Tajiri as a way to instill in children of the modern, more urbanized Japan the same enjoyment that he felt as a young boy collecting insects and other bugs near his hometown of Machida. Initially called Capsule Monsters, or CapuMon for short, Tajiri pitched the series to Nintendo after being inspired by the Game Link Cable; he pictured an insect crawling across it between two Game Boy systems.

With help from Shigeru Miyamoto, the series began development, with the concepts of the original games, Pokémon Red and Green, going into production between 1990 and 1995. At last, in early 1996, the first games in the series were released in Japan, and Tajiri's dream had become reality. Compared to other games of its time, Pokémon was very limited, with comparatively poor graphics and sound. The series was an overnight success though, and Red and Green were quickly followed by an upgraded third version, Pokémon Blue.

An anime was produced, with the intention of covering the journey players took through the Kanto region in the games over the course of a year and a half. About halfway through the anime's run in late 1997, tragedy struck and an episodeof the anime was found to be responsible for epileptic seizures in more than 600 children due to a flashing strobe effect. No one died of these seizures, and after an investigation was put into place, the anime was put on hiatus for four months, later returning to the air to complete the Kanto run in April 1998.

Encouraged by the games' success in Japan and their upcoming release in the United States, Game Freak began development on sequels to them. Rather than releasing the sequels immediately, however, Game Freak instead chose to draw from the story of the anime (which differed from the games in that its protagonist was given a Pikachu instead of the standard starter Pokémon received in Red, Green, and Blue) and created a fourth game, Special Pikachu Edition, to buy some more time for development on the announced sequels.

Several manga series were also produced in this early period, including Pokémon Adventures, which Tajiri has stated is closest to his original idea of the world the series takes place in.

The much-awaited sequels were released in 1999 in Japan and 2000 in the US. Pokémon Gold and Silver revamped the Pokémon world, bringing it into full color, introducing one hundred new Pokémon and addressing many of the issues that had been present in the original games. For example, two new types were introduced to address type imbalances. The anime, manga, and other aspects of the franchise followed suit, bringing their characters into the second generation.

Even after the initial worldwide hype for the series died down, the Pokémon franchise remained strong. A third version was produced for Generation II, focusing on the Legendary Pokémon Suicune. With Pokémon Crystal, a female player character was finally introduced, and the games became fully dependent on the Game Boy Color, abandoning the now long-outdated Game Boy. Generation III was announced for the new Game Boy Advance, and at least among fans, the hype returned.

Despite this, when Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were initially released many people considered them, and Generation III in general, a disappointment. Misty, Ash's longtime companion in the anime, left the show and a new girl May joined him. Although 135 new Pokémon were introduced, the games, unlike the Generation II games, were completely incompatible with their predecessors, making 184 of the 251 previously released Pokémon unobtainable without cheating. This issue was addressed with the unprecedented release of remakes of the original pair of games, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which included many of the Pokémon missing from Ruby and Sapphire. In addition, an enhanced version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon Emerald, was released and introduced the Battle Frontier and many other features that would be enjoyed by those who battled Pokémon competitively.

Much like the previous generations, Generation IV was highly anticipated. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, released in 2006 in Japan and 2007 in the US, received much praise. These games brought with them many enhancements from Emerald, and for the first time, Pokémon could be played online to battle against and trade with other players across the world. This generation was also noted for introducing the physical/special damage category split, another improvement which would be enjoyed by those who battled Pokémon competitively. 107 new Pokémon were added as well, bringing the total to 493.

With the precedent set by the earlier release of remakes for the original pair of games, this generation saw much speculation for a remake of the now-outdated Generation II games, and hidden data in the games seemed to indicate that remakes were planned. A third version, Pokémon Platinum, was released two years after Diamond and Pearl. Due to this, as well as the delay in the release, many became discouraged that the remakes would never come. However, after five years of speculation, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were finally released in 2009 in Japan and in 2010 elsewhere.

Generation V constituted a "reboot" similar to that of Generation III. The highly anticipated Pokémon Black and White were set far away from the previous games in a region based on New York City called Unova. Initially in the game, only the 156 new Pokémon introduced in this generation were available before beating the Pokémon League, forcing veteran players to rethink old strategies. The games did have the capacity to connect to older games, however, and maintained the international connectivity introduced in the fourth generation. The anime series, Pokémon Trading Card Game, and manga series also embraced the new generation with releases of tie-in media. Breaking the traditional format, Pokémon Black and White were followed by two direct sequels, Pokémon Black and White Versions 2, which included many Pokémon from different regions.

Generation VI started with Pokémon X and Y, which were released worldwide on the same day in 2013, a first for the franchise. The games introduced many new features, such as fully 3D gameplay including 3D models for every Pokémon, Mega Evolution, the introduction of the Fairy type, Trainer customization, Pokémon-Amie, and new battle formats (such as Sky Battles and Inverse Battles). The games' Kalos region was chosen to be based on France partly because French culture is known for its art and beauty—the main theme of the game. The new Super Training feature offered a simple way to monitor a Pokémon's EVs. New ways to improve the player's chance of finding Shiny Pokémon were also introduced, such as the introduction of chain fishing and the return of the Poké Radar. With the addition of 72 new Pokémon, the total number of Pokémon in Generation VI is 721.

Although there were no remakes in Generation V, Generation VI saw the release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphireworldwide in 2014, remakes of Generation III's Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Similarly to Pokémon X and Y, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were released around the same time worldwide, although the games were released in Europe a week after the rest of the world. In addition to being remakes of the Generation III games, the games included new Mega Evolutions and introduced Primal Reversion.

Generation VII began with the release of Pokémon Sun and Moon in November 2016; like Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, these games were released on the same day worldwide except in Europe, where the games' release was delayed a few days. This generation introduced 81 new Pokémon, taking the total up to 802. The games were released on the year of the 20th anniversary of the franchise and are notable for being the first in the core series to lack Gyms, Badges, and HMs. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, enhanced versions of Pokémon Sun and Moon, will be released worldwide in November 2017. These will be the first games to introduce new Pokémon during a generation, excluding Mythical Pokémon that were already present in the older games' data.

## Video games

### Generations

The original Pokémon games were role-playing games (RPGs) with an element of strategy, and were created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy. These RPGs, and their sequels, remakes, and English language translations, are still considered the "main" Pokémon games, and the games which most fans of the series are referring to when they use the term "Pokémon games". All of the licensed Pokémon properties overseen by The Pokémon Company International are divided roughly by generation. These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; every several years, when an official sequel in the main RPG series is released that features new Pokémon, characters, and gameplay concepts, that sequel is considered the start of a new generation of the franchise. The main games and their spin-offs, the anime, manga, and trading card game are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins. The franchise began the seventh generation on November 18, 2016.

A rival battle between a Bulbasaur and a Charmander in *Pokémon Red* and *Blue*.

### Generation 1

The Pokémon franchise started off in its first generation with its initial release of *Pocket Monsters Aka* and *Midori* ("Red" and "Green", respectively) for the Game Boy in Japan on February 27, 1996. When these games proved extremely popular, an enhanced *Ao* ("Blue") version was released sometime after, and the *Ao* version was reprogrammed as *Pokémon Red* and *Blue* for international release. The games launched in the United States on September 30, 1998. The original *Aka* and *Midori*versions were never released outside Japan. Afterwards, a further enhanced version titled *Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition* was released to partially take advantage of the color palette of the Game Boy Color, as well as to feature more elements from the popular Pokémon anime. This first generation of games introduced the original 151 species of Pokémon, in National Pokédex order, encompassing all Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mew. It also introduced the basic game concepts of capturing, training, battling, and trading Pokémon with both computer and human players. These versions of the games take place within the fictional Kantoregion, inspired by the real world Kantō region of Japan, though the name "Kanto" was not used until the second generation.

### Generation 2

The second generation of Pokémon began in 1999 with the release of *Pokémon Gold* and *Silver* for Game Boy Color. Like the previous generation, an enhanced version titled *Pokémon Crystal* was later released. The second generation introduced 100 new species of Pokémon, starting with Chikorita and ending with Celebi. The Pokédex totaled 251 Pokémon to collect, train, and battle, set in Johto, inspired by Japan's Kansai region. The Pokémon mini is a handheld game console released in November 2001 in North America, December 2001 in Japan, and 2002 in Europe.

### Generation 3

Pokémon entered its third generation with the 2002 release of *Pokémon Ruby* and *Sapphire* for Game Boy Advance and continued with the Game Boy Advance remakes of *Pokémon Red* and *Blue*, *Pokémon FireRed* and *LeafGreen*, and an enhanced version of *Pokémon Ruby* and *Sapphire* titled *Pokémon Emerald*. The third generation introduced 135 new Pokémon, starting with Treecko and ending with Deoxys, for a total of 386 species. *Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire* and *Emerald*are set in Hoenn, inspired by Japan's Kyushu region. However, this generation also garnered some criticism for leaving out several gameplay features, including the day-and-night system introduced in the previous generation. It was also the first installment that encouraged the player to collect merely a selected assortment of the total number of Pokémon rather than every existing species. By contrast, 202 out of 386 species are catchable in the *Ruby* and *Sapphire* versions.

### Generation 4

In 2006, Japan began the fourth generation of the franchise with the release of *Pokémon Diamond* and *Pearl* for Nintendo DS. The fourth generation introduced another 107 new species of Pokémon, starting with Turtwig and ending with Arceus, bringing the total of Pokémon species to 493.[25] The Nintendo DS "touch screen" allows new features to the game such as cooking poffins with the stylus and using the "Pokétch". New gameplay concepts include a restructured move-classification system, online multiplayer trading and battling via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the return and expansion of the second generation's day-and-night system, the expansion of the third generation's Pokémon Contests into "Super Contests", and the new region of Sinnoh. This region was inspired by Japan's Hokkaido region and part of Russia's Sakhalin, and has an underground component for multiplayer gameplay in addition to the main overworld. *Pokémon Platinum*, the enhanced version of Diamond and Pearl—much like *Pokémon Yellow*, *Crystal*, and *Emerald*—was released in September 2008 in Japan, March 2009 in North America, and May 2009 in Australia and Europe. Spin-off titles in the fourth generation include the *Pokémon Stadium* follow-up *Pokémon Battle Revolution* for Wii, which has Wi-Fi connectivity as well.[26] Nintendo announced in May 2009 that enhanced remakes of *Pokémon Gold* and *Silver*, entitled *Pokémon HeartGold* and *SoulSilver*, would be released for the Nintendo DS system. *HeartGold* and *SoulSilver* are set in the Johto region and were released in September 2009 in Japan and March 2010 in North America.

### Generation 5

The fifth generation of *Pokémon* began on September 18, 2010, with the release of *Pokémon Black* and *White* in Japan for Nintendo DS. The games were originally announced by the Pokémon Company on January 29, 2010, with a tentative release later that year. The final release date of September 18 was announced on June 27, 2010. This version is set in the Unova region (イッシュ地方 *Isshu-chihō*, Isshu region), inspired by New York City, and utilizes the Nintendo DS's 3-D rendering capabilities to a greater extent than *Platinum*, *HeartGold*, and *SoulSilver*, as shown in game footage of the player walking through the Castelia City (ヒウンシティ *Hiun Shiti*) metropolis. A total of 156 new Pokémon were introduced, starting with Victini and ending with Genesect, bringing the franchise's total to 649. This is currently the only time that the number of Pokémon introduced surpasses the number introduced in the first generation. It also deployed new game mechanics such as the C Gear (Cギア *C Gia*) wireless interactivity featuresand the ability to upload game data to the Internet and to the player's own computer. *Pokémon Black* and *White* was released in Europe on March 4, 2011, in North America on March 6, 2011, and in Australia on March 10, 2011. On June 23, 2012, Nintendo released *Pokémon Black 2* and *Pokémon White 2* in Japan for Nintendo DS, with early October releases in North America and Europe. *Black 2* and *White 2* are sequels to *Black* and *White*, with several events in the second games referencing events in the first; they also allow players to link their previous *Black* or *White* with their *Black 2* or *White 2*, introducing several events based on how they played their previous game.

### Generation 6

Officially announced on January 8, 2013, and released simultaneously worldwide on October 12, 2013, *Pokémon X* and *Pokémon* *Y* for the Nintendo 3DS are part of the sixth generation of games. Introducing the France-inspired Kalos region, these are the first Pokémon games rendered in 3D, and the first released worldwide together. A total of 72 new Pokémon were introduced, starting with Chespin and ending with Volcanion, bringing the franchise's total to 721. The fewest new Pokémon in a single generation so far; however, the new Mega Evolution feature was added to the games to balance out the lack of new characters. Another addition was the Fairy typing, the first new type since Dark and Steel in the second generation. On May 7, 2014, Nintendo announced remakes of the third generation games *Pokémon Ruby* and *Sapphire* titled *Pokémon Omega Ruby* and *Alpha Sapphire* which were released in Japan, North America, Australia, and South Korea on November 21, 2014, and in Europe on November 28, 2014.

### Generation 7

Officially announced on February 26, 2016, *Pokémon Sun* and *Moon* for the Nintendo 3DS are part of the seventh generation of games, and the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the franchise, introducing the Hawaii-inspired Alola region. Both games were released worldwide on November 18, 2016, in nine languages; Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, and, for the first time, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified). A total of 81 new Pokémon were introduced, bringing the total to 802. Though no new mega evolutions were added, a new type of form was added for specific Pokémon, called Alola Form, changing their types and move sets. A new type of move was added as well, called the Z-move. Usable by any Pokémon, Z-moves are extremely powerful and as such can only be used once per battle.

Two more games, *Pokémon Ultra Sun* and *Ultra Moon* were released on November 17, 2017. These games add five new Pokémon on top of the ones introduced into *Sun* and *Moon*, bringing the total to 807.

### Game mechanics

The main staple of the *Pokémon* video game series revolves around the catching and battling of Pokémon. Starting with a starter Pokémon, the player can catch wild Pokémon by weakening them and catching them with Poké Balls. Conversely, they can choose to defeat them in battle in order to gain experience for their Pokémon, raising their levels and teaching them new moves. Most Pokémon have 'evolution families', a term which refers to the Pokémon to evolve into or be evolved into more powerful forms by raising their levels or using certain items. Throughout the game, players will have to battle other trainers in order to progress, with the main goal to defeat various Gym Leaders/Trials and earn the right to become the regional champion. Subsequent games in the series have introduced various side games and side quests, including the Battle Frontiers that display unique battle types and the Pokémon Contests where visual appearance is put on display.

### Starter Pokémon

One of the consistent aspects of the Pokémon games—spanning from *Pokémon Red* and *Blue* on the Game Boy to the Nintendo 3DS games *Pokémon Ultra Sun* and *Ultra Moon*—is the choice of one of three different Pokémon at the start of the player's adventures; these three are often labeled "starter Pokémon". Players can choose a Grass-type, a Fire-type, or a Water-type. For example, in *Pokémon Red* and *Blue* (and their respective remakes, *Pokémon FireRed* and *Pokémon LeafGreen*), the player has the choice of starting with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. The exception to this rule is *Pokémon Yellow* (a remake of the original games that loosely follows the story of the *Pokémon* anime), where players are given a Pikachu, an Electric-type mouse Pokémon, famous for being the mascot of the Pokémon media franchise; in this game, however, the three starter Pokémon from *Red* and *Blue* can be obtained by meeting certain requirements in game, such as Pikachu having full happiness. Another consistent aspect is that the player's rival will always choose as his or her starter Pokémon the one that has a type advantage over the player's Pokémon. For instance, if the player picks a Grass-type Pokémon, the rival will always pick the Fire-type starter. An exception to this is again *Pokémon Yellow*, in which the rival picks an Eevee, but whether this Eevee evolves into Vaporeon, Jolteon, or Flareon is decided by when the player wins and loses to the rival through the journey. *Pokémon Sun and Moon* are also an exception where the rival will pick the starter weak toward the players, with the remaining starter used elsewhere. The GameCube games *Pokémon Colosseum* and *Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness* also contain an exception; whereas in most games the player's initial Pokémon starts at Level 5, in these two games the player's initial Pokémon starts at Levels 10 and 25, respectively. In *Colosseum* the player's starter Pokémon are Espeon and Umbreon, while in *Gale of Darkness* the player's starter is Eevee.

### Pokédex

The Pokédex is an electronic device featured in the Pokémon video game, anime, and manga series. In the games, whenever a Pokémon is first captured, its data will be added to a player's Pokédex, but in the anime, the Pokédex is a comprehensive electronic reference encyclopedia, usually referred to in order to deliver exposition. "Pokédex" is also used to refer to a list of Pokémon, usually a list of Pokémon by number. In the video games, a Pokémon Trainer is issued a blank device at the start of the journey. A trainer must then attempt to fill the Pokédex by encountering and at least briefly obtaining each of the different species of Pokémon. A player will receive the name and image of a Pokémon after encountering one that was not previously in the Pokédex, typically after battling said Pokémon either in the wild or in a trainer battle (with the exceptions of link battles and tournament battles, such as in the Battle Frontier). In *Pokémon Red*and *Blue*, some Pokémon's data is added to the Pokédex simply by viewing the Pokémon, such as in the zoo outside the Safari Zone. Also, certain NPC characters may add to the Pokédex by explaining what a Pokémon looks like during conversation.

More detailed information is available after the player obtains a member of the species, either through capturing the Pokémon in the wild, evolving a previously captured Pokémon, hatching a Pokémon egg (from the second generation onwards), or through a trade with another trainer (either an NPC or another player). This information includes height, weight, species type, typing, and a short description of the Pokémon. Later versions of the Pokédex have more detailed information, like the size of a certain Pokémon compared to the player character, or Pokémon being sorted by their habitat (so far, the latter feature is only in the *FireRed* and *LeafGreen* versions). The most current forms of Pokédex are capable of containing information on all Pokémon currently known. The GameCube games, *Pokémon Colosseum* and *Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness*, have a Pokémon Digital Assistant (P★DA) which is similar to the Pokédex, but also tells what types are effective against a Pokémon and gives a description of its abilities.