Pokémon (Japanese:
ポケモン Pokemon, pronounced Poh-Kay-Mon) is a video
game franchise, created by Satoshi Tajiri and published by Nintendo for several of their systems, most importantly the Game Boy. It has been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, and much more. The name Pokémon is a portmanteau of the words
Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター Poketto Monsutā),
which is its Japanese name.
Pokémon is also the collective name for the creatures within the Pokémon games. The franchise has 386 unique
monsters that lie at the heart of the Pokémon series (388 including currently
known Pokémon from future games, and 390 including the glitch-based Missingno.
and 'M Block).
The Pokémon games are strategy games with a small RPG element which allow players to catch, collect, and train pets with various abilities, and battle them against each other to build their strength and evolve
them into more powerful Pokémon. Pokémon battles are based on the non-lethal Eastern sport of fighting insects; the Pokémon never bleed or die. The game's catchphrase used to be "Gotta catch 'em all!", although now it is no longer officially used. (In an "in-joke"
used in the English version of the Pokemon anime movie "Destiny Deoxys," Brock says this as he catches hot dogs from a machine as he grabs the wieners in mid-air.)
The Pokémon characters have become pop-culture icons, with a
Pikachu balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, thousands of merchandise items, and in 2005, a theme park in
Nagoya, Japan. The satirical cartoon South Park spoofed Pokémon
in Episode 312, entitled "Chinpokomon", in which the bosses behind the creation of the toys were revealed to be Japanese
ultranationalists bent on avenging Japan's defeat in World War II.
Because of the unprecedented popularity of the franchise, Nintendo formed a subsidary company called The Pokémon Company to
handle the franchise. The subsidary handles everything from publishing the games in Japan to running the official merchandise
stores, the Pokémon Centers. The Pokémon Company in turn has a U.S. based subsidary called Pokémon USA, of which a minority owner
is 4Kids Entertainment, the international distributors
outside Japan of the popular Pokemon anime series.
Video games
Main article: Pokémon (video games)
The Pokémon franchise originated with a series of Japanese video games created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy. The first games in the series
were the RPGs Pokémon Red and Blue (Red and Green in Japan).
These games were nearly identical, save for the fact that each version had a select group of Pokémon that the other version did
not. The ultimate goal of these games was to catch all the different species of Pokémon, (150 at the time, 151 including one that
could not be obtained during regular gameplay) and to do this players had to trade for Pokémon not available in the version they
had.
The games have had many RPG sequels, as well as diversifying into various spin-offs, such as pinball, virtual pets, and simulated photography.
Anime
Main article: Pokémon (anime)
There are two Pokémon anime series based on the video games. The first, and the more familiar one, Pokémon or
Pocket Monsters tells the adventures of Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in the
original Japanese) as he travels through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto to become the greatest Pokémon Master. The saga
continues into Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation (in Japan). The English version of the series uses Pokémon under
various subtitles.
The second, entitled Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku, is a spinoff of the first, and tells the adventures
within the continuity of Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation, starring many of the recurring characters in Pocket
Monsters. Although this series has not aired outside of Japan, an English version is in the works, under the title Pokémon
Chronicles that will air on Kids' WB in the fall of 2005.
Card Game
Main article: Pokémon (card game)
The Pokémon Trading Card Game was first introduced to North America in 1999, and
in Japan at an earlier date (exact date unknown). It is a collectible card game based off the famous Pokémon video game. At the time, it was published by Wizards of the Coast, the company most famous for Magic: The Gathering.
However, with the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Game Boy video games, Nintendo took back the
card game from Wizards of the Coast and started publishing the cards themselves. The latest incarnations of the card games is
known as Pokémon-e Trading Card Game, the cards of which (for the large part) are compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader.
Manga
There are various Pokémon manga series, four of which were released in English by Viz Communications, and seven of them released in English by Chuang Yi.
Manga released in English
- Pokémon (The Electric Tale of
Pikachu a.k.a Dengeki Pikachu), a shōnen manga created by Toshihiro
Ono. It was divided into four tankōbon, each with four separate titles in
North America: The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pikachu Shocks Back, Electric Pikachu Boogaloo, and Surf's
Up, Pikachu. In the English Singapore manga, the titles of volumes are the same. The series is based on the video game and
anime.
- Pokémon Adventures, a shōnen manga based on
the video games.
- Magical Pokémon Journey (a.k.a. Pokémon:
PiPiPi Adventures), a shōjo manga
- Pikachu Meets the Press (newspaper style
comics, not released by Chuang Yi)
- Ash & Pikachu (a.k.a. Satoshi to Pikachu, not
released by Viz)
- Pokémon Gold
& Silver (not released by Viz)
- Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire and Pokémon Pocket
(not released by Viz)
- Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker (not released by Viz)
Manga not released in English
- Pokémon Card Ni Natta Wake (How I Became a Pokémon Card) by Kagemaru Himeno, an artist for the TCG. There are
six volumes and each includes a special promotional card. The stories tell the tales of the art behind some of Himeno's cards
(the tale of Persian from the Jungle set is particularly popular).
- Pokémon Getto Da ze! by Satomi Nakamura
- Poketto Monsutaa Chamo Chamo Puritei by Yumi Tsukirino, who also made Magical Pokémon Journey.
Pokémon Live
Main article: Pokémon Live!
A live action show called Pokémon Live! toured the United States in late 2000. It was based
off of the popular Pokémon anime, and was well-liked among fans
of the franchise (in spite of some continuity errors relating to the anime). In
late 2002, it was scheduled to tour Europe, but
was cancelled for unknown reasons.
Controversy
Many Protestant Christian groups in the United States believe Pokémon to be Satanic in origin. After the US release of Pokémon
Yellow, there was a sudden widespread criticism of it passed through Christian congregations primarily by word-of-mouth. Most people believe these claims to be nonsense, and note
that they are spread as urban legends. While this criticism has been a
widespread phenomenon in the United States, little about it has been committed to print. It would be incorrect to state that the
Christian religious community has an official opinion on this, but its widespread nature makes it a legitimate topic of study.
The parallels that have frequently been drawn between Satanism and Pokémon are covered at Pokémon and Satanism.
Pokémon has been criticised by some members of the Jewish community for its
use of the swastika, the most widely known symbol of Nazism. Nintendo says that this is a matter of cultural misunderstanding, as the swastika used to be used in
East Asian cultures as a symbol for "good fortune" by the Buddhist religion. If a Japanese map of any
major city is examined, little clockwise swastikas, or "manji", where Buddhist temples
are located, can be seen. Many Jewish groups hold that it is inappropriate to use this symbol
on children's toys.
The manji was shown only on a Japanese version card and was excluded from the North American release with due consideration of
the cross-cultural issue. However, these Jewish members attacked the Japanese version distributed in the U.S. by unauthorized
import. As a result of this controversy Nintendo stopped using this symbol even in the Japanese version. [1] (http://www.adl.org/presrele/Mise_00/3511_00.asp) This raised a public backlash in Japan for
being intolerant towards the symbols of the Buddhist religion for the sake of avoiding controversy. An image of the controversial
card may be seen here (http://www.geocities.com/swastika_webring/pokeswas.jpg).
Many Islamic religious speakers in the Arab-Muslim nations of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt hold that Pokémon is part of a "Jewish conspiracy" to corrupt Muslim children. They claim that the word "Pokeman" is a Japanese word which
means "I am Jewish." This claim is patently false. One Saudi Arabian Sheikh (Sheikh Abdel Moneim Abu Zant) has written "The
Pokémon craze is a Jewish plot aimed at forcing our children to forgo their faith and values and to distract them from more
important things such as scientific ambitions." The Anti-Defamation League has spoken out against these conspiracy theorists. [2] (http://www.adl.org/presrele/IslME_62/3791_62.asp)
Lawsuits
In November of 2000 it was reported that
Uri Geller, an Israeli psychic-magician who claims to bend spoons with his mind, sued
Nintendo over the Pokémon "Kadabra" ("Yungerer" or "Yungerā" in Japanese) which
he claimed was an unauthorized appropriation of his identity. [3] (http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/emergingtech/0,39020357,2076058,00.htm) [4] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1003454.stm) The Pokémon in question has psychic
abilities and carries bent spoons. The name is a pun; the katakana letter 'n'
(ン) looks quite like the letter 'ri' (リ) (the translation of Mr. Geller's name into Katakana would be "Yurigeraa).
Geller sued for the equivalent of 100 million dollars, but lost.
A parents' group is suing Nintendo of America and other manufacturers of collectible cards (such as baseball card makers),
claiming that the collectible nature of randomly purchased cards constitutes illegal gambling.
Two other parents also set up a site named Pokémon Kills after their son choked to death on a Burger King Poké Ball
toy. The toy had two pieces, and the top red lid piece could easily fit over the mouth of a child. Burger King issued a voluntary
recall of the toys in exchange for food.
Miscellaneous
Although Pokémon was originally intended for younger children, it also has made an appeal to teenagers. Some older
North American children and teenagers shun the Pokémon franchise, seeing it as made for a younger age group. A few claim
Pokémon shouldn't be recognized as anime, but as children's TV. Today in North America, Pokémon is often claimed
for young children only, although Pokémon is thriving in all age groups in Japan.
A mammalian oncogene was named "Pokemon"[5] (http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/54387.cfm)
(no "é") by its discoverers – however, this may or may not actually be a reference to Pokémon.
External links
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