123-516: The fifth generation (Generation V) of the Pokémon franchise features 156 fictional species of creatures introduced to the core video game series in the 2010 Nintendo DS games Pokémon Black and White . Some Pokémon in this generation were introduced in animated adaptations of the franchise before Black and White . The following list details the 156 Pokémon of Generation V in order of their National Pokédex number. The first Pokémon, Victini ,
246-602: A doujinshi magazine titled Game Freak . The title was inspired by the 1932 film Freaks , which Tajiri was fascinated with at the time. He self-published the first issue of the magazine in March 1983, at the age of 17. At the time, magazines specializing in video games did not yet exist in Japan, allowing Game Freak to fill a gap in the market . Sometime later, Tajiri was contacted by aspiring manga artist Ken Sugimori , who became Game Freak' s illustrator. Game Freak folded in
369-481: A role-playing game (RPG) for the Famicom ( NES ). The game features randomly appearing items of varying rarity, including an extremely rare item called Mysterious Hat. Tajiri did not encounter any, while Ken Sugimori, who was also playing the game, encountered two. Upon recalling this experience, Tajiri realized that the cable now made it possible to transfer things from one cartridge to another. He noted that, until then,
492-461: A CCG, he contacted Ishihara and offered to distribute it, signing the contract near the end of 1995. CoroCoro again proved a valuable information channel. The Trading Card Game was first announced in the November issue, the same one that announced Pokemon Blue . The issue came bundled with two promo cards: one of Purin ( Jigglypuff ) and one of Pikachu . Surveys showed that they were respectively
615-603: A Q&A session in which Tajiri and Ishihara were asked about the Pokemon universe. The council was careful to have the anime be in concordance with the video game. Inevitably, there had to be differences between the two, but all agreed that the overall worldview as envisioned by Tajiri should not be disturbed. At the start of the video game, the player has to choose one of three starter Pokemon: Fushigidane, Hitokage, or Zenigame ( Bulbasaur , Charmander , or Squirtle ). The council didn't want to unfairly popularize any of them, and wanted
738-685: A Wizards spokeswoman stated that more employees and printers had been hired to increase card production. However, near the end of the month, a different Wizards spokeswoman told The Washington Post that they had "exhausted most of the card-printing capacity of the United States". Similarly, USA Today reported in November 1999 that factories making Hasbro 's Pokémon toys had expanded production by 20 times, but demand still exceeded supply. In Europe, scarcity of Pokémon merchandise also occurred. The Pok%C3%A9mon Company The Pokémon Company ( 株式会社ポケモン , Kabushiki Gaisha Pokemon , TPC )
861-597: A child. The series' titular character owns a number of capsules containing miniaturized kaiju (monsters), which come out and return to their original sizes when the capsule is thrown into mid-air. Kaiju media in general were an important influence on Pokemon , as many Game Freak staff members had grown up with them. Other influences that have been cited by Tajiri include: gashapon , capsules with toy figures in them that can be drawn from vending machines; collectible cards , such as baseball cards , Ultraman cards and menko ; The Final Fantasy Legend (1989),
984-619: A few cartridges and tested the game on his employees – they did not believe it would work in the US. At the time, role-playing games (RPGs) were not very popular outside Japan, and NoA executives believed that American children did not have the attention span for such a complex title. Americans were said to be more interested in sport- and action-oriented games, preferably with realistic graphics. Japanese people, by contrast, were alleged to care more about characters and plot. Up to that point, few Japanese properties had been successfully mainstreamed in
1107-455: A few external artists to create some test-designs for the American market. The mockups they proposed included 'graffiti style' drawings, 'beefed-up' and more muscular looking Pokemon, and a new Pikachu that looked like "a tiger with huge breasts". Arakawa concluded that it "didn't work", and by that time, the anime had begun its production in Japan, leading NoA to conclude it was too late for
1230-458: A game centered on capturing creatures of differing rarity. Since the Game Boy is a portable device, these creatures could then be exchanged with other players in real life using the link cable. Once the player has caught a creature in-game, it was to be stored in miniaturized form in a special capsule. This facet of the game was inspired by Ultraseven , a tokusatsu show that Tajiri had enjoyed as
1353-413: A graphical revamp anyway. Of pivotal importance to Pokemon ' s global expansion was Alfred R. Kahn , CEO of US-based 4Kids Entertainment , NoA's licensing agent since 1987. Convinced of the franchise's potential, Kahn agreed to invest an undisclosed sum in return for both the anime and licensing rights. Pokemon became one of the first Japanese media franchises in which both the localization of
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#17330850946411476-447: A lack of (experienced) staff. Nintendo consequently granted ShoPro exclusive licensor rights. This was the first time that Nintendo of Japan (NoJ) granted licensor rights to another company, aside from its overseas subsidiaries Nintendo of America (NoA) and Nintendo of Europe (NoE). A copyright council was formed, headed by Ishihara. Beginning in April 1997, the council met every Tuesday, in
1599-470: A limited time as a special offer. It was announced in the November issue of CoroCoro , which explicitly stated that Blue was not a new game, but rather a special, limited edition to celebrate 1 million sales of Red and Green . The offer was a surprisingly big success: 300,000 units were expected to be sold, but over double was ordered. The Pokemon Trading Card Game was one of the first collectible card games (CCGs) developed in Japan. Its creation
1722-500: A much-needed boost to Japan's economy, which was stagnating in what would later be called the Lost Decade . An example of a firm that benefited greatly from Pokemon was food manufacturer Nagatanien [ jp ] . From May 1997, the company began selling Pokemon -branded curry , furikake , and baking mixes . In December 1997, Nagatanien was hit hard by the collapse of one of its biggest sales channels, Toshoku , in what
1845-443: A number of game-related television shows for Fuji Television 's late-night slot. In his job as a TV producer, Ishihara befriended Tajiri, as well as Shigesato Itoi , who would later become CEO of Ape, Inc. Ishihara was also the general director of the world's first gaming encyclopedia: TV Games: Encyclopedia of Video Games ( テレビゲーム―電視遊戯大全 , Terebigēmu ― Denshi Yūgi Taizen ) . Kenji Hatakeyama and Masakazu Kubo wrote that, at
1968-471: A pair of role-playing games developed by Game Freak , from an original concept by its founder, Satoshi Tajiri . Released on the Game Boy on February 27, 1996, the games became sleeper hits and were followed by manga series, a trading card game, and anime series and films. From 1998 to 2000, Pokémon was exported to the rest of the world, creating an unprecedented global phenomenon dubbed "Pokémania". By 2002,
2091-403: A pre-selection and send the approved proposals to Japan, where the council made the final decision. Many submissions were bounced at the US stage, and thus never got sent to Japan. Tilden noted that processing all license applications, and mailing all approved prototypes and their documentation to Japan, was a lot of work. Arakawa did consider streamlining the process by moving someone from Japan to
2214-486: A process called evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items. Each Pokémon have one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex , a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species. Pok%C3%A9mon Pokémon
2337-461: A special gift to "20 to 100 people". After Kubo learned of it, he encouraged Tajiri and Ishihara to allow an official release of Blue . President Hiroshi Yamauchi initially rejected this, fearing it would confuse people into believing it was an entirely new Pokemon game. Kawaguchi then suggested an alternative, which Yamauchi agreed with: Blue would not receive a normal retail release, but would instead be made available only through mail order for
2460-446: A subsidiary of TPC, has managed the franchise in all regions outside of Asia. The original full name of the franchise is Pocket Monsters ( ポケットモンスター , Poketto Monsutā ) , which has been commonly abbreviated to Pokemon ( ポケモン ) since its launch. When the franchise was released internationally, the short form of the title was used, with an acute accent (´) over the e to aid in pronunciation. Pokémon refers to both
2583-522: A yellow mouse-like species with lightning bolt-shaped tails that possess electrical abilities. The player character takes the role of a Pokémon Trainer. The Trainer has three primary goals: travel and explore the Pokémon world; discover and catch each Pokémon species in order to complete their Pokédex ; and train a team of up to six Pokémon at a time and have them engage in battles. Most Pokémon can be caught with spherical devices known as Poké Balls . Once
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#17330850946412706-450: Is #494 and the last, Genesect , is #649. In total, this generation added the most unique Pokémon of any generation. Alternate forms that result in type changes are included for convenience. Mega evolutions and regional forms are included on the pages for the generation in which they were introduced. Pokémon are a species of fictional creatures created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo ,
2829-443: Is a Japanese media franchise consisting of video games , animated series and films , a trading card game , and other related media. The franchise takes place in a shared universe in which humans co-exist with creatures known as Pokémon , a large variety of species endowed with special powers. The franchise's target audience is children aged 5 to 12, but it is known to attract people of all ages. The franchise originated as
2952-481: Is a Japanese company responsible for brand management , production, publishing , marketing , and licensing of the Pokémon franchise , which consists of video games , a trading card game , anime television series , films , manga , home entertainment products, merchandise, and other ventures. It was established through a joint investment by the three companies holding the copyright and trademark of Pokémon — Nintendo , Game Freak , and Creatures —to focus in
3075-418: Is handled by different companies contracted in spin-offs and by Game Freak in mainline titles. The company is solely responsible for publishing and licensing mobile Pokémon titles, unlike console titles where it has help from Nintendo. In 1998, Nintendo, Creatures, and Game Freak established The Pokémon Center Company ( ポケモンセンター株式会社 , Pokemon Sentā Kabushiki gaisha ) in order to effectively manage
3198-633: Is jointly owned by three: Nintendo , Game Freak, and Creatures . Game Freak develops the core series role-playing games , which are published by Nintendo exclusively for their consoles, while Creatures manages the trading card game and related merchandise, occasionally developing spin-off titles. The three companies established The Pokémon Company (TPC) in 1998 to manage the Pokémon property within Asia. The Pokémon anime series and films are co-owned by Shogakukan . Since 2009, The Pokémon Company International (TPCi),
3321-484: Is unobtainable in the game(s) through usual means, and was intended to be used at a later point in some post-launch activity. To participate in the promotion, CoroCoro readers had to send in a postcard, and from the entrants, 20 were selected at random. The winners then had to send in their cartridge so that Mew could be uploaded onto it. The lottery was a success and increased word-of-mouth . By September, sales of Red and Green had surpassed 1 million units. After
3444-553: The Americas . Nintendo Australia is responsible for some licensing and marketing of Pokémon products in Australia and New Zealand because The Pokémon Company does not have an Australian branch. Since 2001, nearly all Pokémon products are represented as "©Pokémon" in the copyright acknowledgments with the original three owners of "©Nintendo", "© GAME FREAK inc. " and "© Creatures Inc. " The three companies also have ownership of all of
3567-552: The Pokemon franchise were the CoroCoro Comic , released monthly, and its sister magazine Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic , released bi-monthly. Both manga magazines are published by Shogakukan , a long-time business partner of Nintendo, and have featured manga based on Nintendo properties (e.g. Super Mario-kun , Kirby of the Stars , Donkey Kong ). At the time of Pokemon ' s release,
3690-480: The Pokémon -related trademarks in Japan while Nintendo is the sole owner of Pokémon -related trademarks in other countries. Licensed toys are made by third- and second-party companies such as Tomy and Jazwares . In October 2001, 4Kids Entertainment acquired a 3% stake in The Pokémon Company for an undisclosed sum. They liquidated this stake 4 years later for US$ 960,000. In 2006, Pokémon Korea, Inc.
3813-490: The " Dennō Senshi Porygon " incident happened, which Kubo felt made even more people resistant to the idea of an overseas introduction. Market research turned back negative: American kids reportedly did not like Pokémon . Arakawa ignored the study and, convinced of the franchise's potential, allocated an enormous budget to Pokémon ' s launch. The exact amount was not disclosed, but was reportedly equal to or more than $ 50 million (c. $ 93.47 million in 2023), approximately
List of generation V Pokémon - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-458: The Game Boy as an insect cage". Ishihara emphasized, however, that the idea of trading creatures with the link cable was Tajiri's. GF and Ape agreed to merge their projects together. According to Tajiri, the two teams initially collaborated on the game, but the work proved difficult, one of the reasons being that Ape was busy developing EarthBound . Tajiri eventually figured that "rather than working with Ape, we had to do something on our own, or
4059-511: The Game Link Cable was only used for competing, but not for something else. Combining this inspiration with his memories of catching insects and other small species, Tajiri's idea would eventually evolve into a virtual recreation of his boyhood experiences, and an attempt to "regain the world that he had lost". He would later state that the game represents "the story of a boy's summer day". Tajiri and his Game Freak staff began pondering over
4182-515: The Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy , which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998. In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through
4305-532: The Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back ( Pokémon: The First Movie ), premiered on July 18, 1998 and became the fourth highest grossing film of the year in Japan. Ultimately, the incident did not damage the Pokemon franchise – it in fact grew further during and after the anime's hiatus. While video rental tapes were removed from shelves, all other Pokemon products continued to be sold as usual, and customer demand for them remained high. Helping matters
4428-972: The North American launch of Pokémon was the release of the Game Boy Color on 23 November 1998. The American version of the Pokémon anime started broadcasting in Australia and New Zealand on September 28, 1998. Red and Blue were subsequently released there on October 23. Various territories in Asia followed: the anime series debuted in Hong Kong on November 16, in Taiwan on November 23, in Shanghai on November 24, in Beijing on January 10, 1999, and in South Korea on July 14, 1999. Outside North America, 4Kids distributed
4551-487: The Pokémon Center stores in Japan. After the popularity of Pokémon Gold and Silver , they received many merchandising proposals from around the world. Companies were interested in working with the Pokémon brand. At that time, Tsunekazu Ishihara of Creatures was the person in charge of approving licensed products. Because of the sheer volume of products, Ishihara thought it was too much work for one person to handle. At
4674-651: The Pokémon Store and Pokémon Center stores, maintaining the Pokémon Stand vending machines and operating the Pokémon Center Online, as well as overseeing the design and manufacture of Japanese Pokémon Center brand merchandise. Yomiomi Uego is currently the president and CEO. In April 2022, The Pokémon Company International announced the acquisition of Millennium Print Group for an undisclosed sum. The printing company has already been producing and packing cards for
4797-469: The Pokémon Trading Card Game since 2015 after partnering up with The Pokémon Company. The move will not have a major effect on Millennium's day-to-day productions, with the company still operating as a separate entity; The Pokémon Company will instead be providing "investment and industry expertise" while assisting Millennium in expanding its capabilities and infrastructure. On June 1, 2022, it
4920-412: The Pokémon learns new offensive and defensive moves to use in battle. Furthermore, many species can undergo a form of spontaneous metamorphosis called Pokémon evolution , and transform into stronger forms. Most Pokémon will evolve at a certain level, while others evolve through different means, such as exposure to a certain item. The main idea behind Pokémon was conceived by Satoshi Tajiri . Tajiri
5043-484: The US, and if they were, it was alleged to be on account of having been properly Americanized : Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was considered a prime example of this. Visually, Pokemon was believed to be too kawaii , or cute . It was assumed that Pokemon could not succeed on cute alone – it must also be cool . In an effort to enhance the franchise's coolness, NoA considered a graphical redesign and contracted
List of generation V Pokémon - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-603: The US, but no person could be found who was as competent as Ishihara. The Pokémon anime was first broadcast on September 7, 1998. Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version were released three weeks later, on September 28, 1998. To localize the card game, Nintendo contracted Wizards of the Coast , the creator of Magic: The Gathering . The Pokémon Trading Card Game was officially launched nationwide on January 9, 1999, although pre-sold in select stores in December. Coinciding with
5289-403: The US, severe scarcity occurred of Pokémon goods, especially Pokémon cards, causing companies to miss profits. A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, published on August 3, 1999, cited a Toys "R" Us manager as saying that a supply of 600 booster packs would last 24 hours. The CEO of one card distributor stated that they were "thousands of boxes behind" on orders. In the same article,
5412-532: The United States. Arakawa appointed Gail Tilden to lead the project, prompting her to leave her position at Nintendo Power magazine. Tilden said that they "decided to make an all-out effort to repeat the phenomenon in the Western world". In two press releases, NoA self-described Pokémon ' s marketing campaign as "aggressive". The localization of the Pokémon anime was done by 4Kids, and directed by Norman J. Grossfeld . Grossfeld strongly believed that
5535-437: The anime also got more girls interested in the franchise, and girls' purchases of Pokemon products increased. This has been partly credited to Pikachu, who gained widespread popularity among both boys and girls. The success of this character would later lead to the game Pocket Monsters Pikachu ( Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition ), released in Japan on September 12, 1998. An adaptation of Pokemon Blue , this version
5658-445: The anime and the licensing of merchandise was handled by a single company, as well as a non-Japanese company. Kahn suggested to use the short version of the name, "Pok é mon," adding an acute accent (´) over the e to assist with pronunciation and "give it a little flair". NoJ president Hiroshi Yamauchi officially approved the project in late November, and subsequently announced it at Space World 1997 . However, three weeks later,
5781-551: The anime in cooperation with Brian Lacey of Lacey Entertainment . The series was presented at MIP TV , in Cannes, France, from April 3–8, 1998. Broadcasters were initially not interested due to its Japanese origins, and preferred to wait and see how the anime would fare in the US. After its American success, Lacey received inquiries about the series throughout 1999 from multiple international broadcasters. Lacey noted that, in Europe, this
5904-546: The anime received similar levels of success. For example, in Germany , "a highly competitive kids market", Pokémon was purchased by RTL 2 . The show's popularity bolstered the entire program block, more than tripling its viewers. Andrea Lang, RTL 2's editor of cartoons and children's programs, said: "We were speechless. We've never had a comparable success". By March 1998, half a year before Pokémon ' s overseas launch, 499 million Pokémon cards had been produced. By March 1999,
6027-418: The anime should be Americanized . At NATPE 1998, he asked ShoPro for a "kind of carte blanche , to let me change the show as I think would work for this market", to which ShoPro agreed. However, no national TV station was interested in buying the anime or financing its localization. Kahn then decided to self-finance Pokémon' s production costs, despite realizing this "could very well bring down 4Kids" if
6150-419: The anime to end before they could release their new games. Kubo was ultimately able to resolve the concerns of all parties involved. An important aspect of Kubo's bargaining power was the then-ongoing Mini 4WD craze and its accompanying hit series Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! . Kubo had an important role in the creation of both, which impressed the stakeholders. To appease Ishihara, Kubo promised him that
6273-405: The anime was broadcast in 51 countries, the films were released in 33 countries, and the cards had been translated into 11 languages. In North America, the debuting Pokémon franchise quickly rose to success. Red and Blue sold 200,000 copies in its first month. By December 1998, the Pokémon anime had become the highest-rated syndicated children's show during the weekdays. This attracted
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#17330850946416396-439: The anime would last for at least a year and a half. This was unusually long for a debuting anime, and required a big investment. Kubo's proposal for Pocket Monsters was officially approved on September 26, 1996. For Nintendo of Japan, it was the first time they licensed a TV series. Kubo assigned independent producer Choji Yoshikawa [ ja ] to lead the project. Shogakukan Productions , commonly called ShoPro,
6519-481: The approximately 7,500 applications submitted in 1997, only about 5% was approved. By March 1998, 35 companies offered licensed Pokemon goods, and there were approximately 700 Pokemon products. Tomy manufactured Pokemon toy figures and plush dolls. Bandai made Pokemon gashapon , dolls and ramune -flavored candy in a plastic box in the shape of a Game Boy. Meiji Seika produced Pokemon chocolate snacks and pudding. The lucrative franchise provided
6642-567: The attention of two media companies: Warner Bros. , co-owner of The WB channel; and Saban Entertainment / Fox Family Worldwide , owners of the Fox Kids channel. A bidding war ensued between the parties, which was won by Warner Bros. On February 13, 1999, Pokémon launched on the Kids' WB national television block. The debut episode became the most watched premiere in Kids' WB's history. In European countries,
6765-601: The battle system, and among other things suggested Pokemon types . Ishihara also came up with the idea of the Pokedex , a portable encyclopedic device which players can use to keep track of the Pokemon they caught. Throughout the years, Tajiri had several conversations with Shigeru Miyamoto , Nintendo's top game designer who Tajiri described as a mentor figure. Although, in a 2018 retrospect, Miyamoto downplayed his role in advising Tajiri, and stated that his contributions to Pokemon were in fact limited. Miyamoto did, however, suggest
6888-529: The company was housed in the same office building as Nintendo in Tokyo. Co-ownership of the Pokemon property, which Ishihara helped create, was subsequently assigned to Creatures. This resulted in Pokemon having three legal owners: Game Freak, the main developer; Creatures, representing producer Ishihara; and Nintendo, the publisher. Anne Allison (2006) wrote that Nintendo also bought the property after Red and Green were finished. Hatakeyama & Kubo noted that
7011-609: The conference room of Creatures' office, at the Nintendo Kanda Building in Sudachō , Tokyo . Attendees usually included Ishihara and his secretary, representatives of Nintendo, Game Freak, ShoPro, TV Tokyo, and JR Kikaku, as well as head of the anime Yoshikawa. Broadly put, every meeting had three types of agenda items: discussing Pokemon -related events and basic policies in Japan, discussing Shogakukan publication plans, and considering merchandise proposals. For merchandising,
7134-472: The council set the bar high. Fiercely protective of Pokemon ' s brand equity , Ishihara was unwilling to greenlit an item just because it had a picture of a Pokemon printed on it. To avoid the market being flooded with low-quality goods, Ishihara put very specific demands on the products he evaluated. Furthermore, in most cases, the council opted to contract one company for each product category. Because of this, most merchandise proposals were rejected: of
7257-526: The craze had ended, after which Pokémon became a fixture in popular culture , with new products being released to this day. In the summer of 2016, the franchise spawned a second craze with the release of Pokémon Go , an augmented reality game developed by Niantic . Pokémon has since been estimated to be the world's highest-grossing media franchise and one of the best-selling video game franchises . Pokémon has an uncommon ownership structure. Unlike most IPs , which are owned by one company, Pokémon
7380-523: The day after Red and Green 's release. Shogakukan, which frequently surveys their target groups, determined that the Pocket Monsters manga was well received. To further promote Red and Green , the May issue of CoroCoro , released on April 15, 1996, announced the "Legendary Pokemon Offer", centered around a mysterious, secret Pokemon called Mew . Mew was a last-minute addition to Red & Green . It
7503-482: The development, and helped with debugging . Sugimori was in charge of the graphics and character design. Masuda created all music and sound effects, and did part of the programming. The budget that Nintendo granted to Game Freak was low; thus, Pocket Monsters was initially planned as a small, compact game, based primarily around Tajiri's core idea of exchanging. However, as development progressed, GF's ideas and ambitions for Pokemon grew. They soon realized that
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#17330850946417626-491: The end of March 1997, six months after its launch, and one month before the debut of the next big installment of the franchise: the Pokemon anime. The success of the TV series would cause the cards' sales figure to explode: by March 1998, a total of 499 million cards had been produced in Japan. By August 1996, Kubo had become convinced of Pokemon ' s potential, and believed Shogakukan should create an anime adaptation . Nintendo
7749-446: The episode triggered a variety of adverse health effects in more than 10,000 viewers, primarily irritated eyes, headaches, dizziness, and nausea. A small part suffered a photosensitive epileptic seizure , manifested in loss of conscious and/or convulsions. Hundreds of children were brought to hospitals, although a part of them had recovered enough upon arrival and did not need to be hospitalized. No one died. Broadcasting of Pokemon
7872-445: The first RPG for the Game Boy; and petting in Japan , with Tajiri noting that having Pokemon is similar to having pets . Tajiri initially named his project Capsule Monsters , which GF's staff commonly shortened to Capumon . However, it later turned out that the term Capsule Monsters could not be trademarked , and it was subsequently decided to call the game Pocket Monsters , which became Pokemon . According to Tomisawa (2000),
7995-511: The first person to show interest in a North American launch of Pokemon was Minoru Arakawa , founder and then-president of Nintendo of America (NoA). Arakawa visited Japan to participate in Shoshinkai 1996 , held November 22–24. It was around this time when he first played one of the three Pokemon titles. He thought the games were promising, but Nintendo of Japan (NoJ) had no plans at the time to release them elsewhere. He returned to America with
8118-613: The first season were secured by TV stations in South Africa , Russia , Iceland , and Finland . In Israel , the anime debuted in February 2000. For unclear reasons, Red and Blue were not officially released there. Thriving only on the strength of the TV series, The First Movie , the cards, and imported video games , the Israeli Pokémon still became a success. By the end of 2000, Pokémon games had been released in 70 countries,
8241-682: The franchise itself and the creatures within its fictional universe. As a noun, it is identical in both the singular and plural , as is every individual species name; it is grammatically correct to say "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon", as well as "one Pikachu " and "many Pikachu". The Pokémon franchise is set in a world in which humans coexist with creatures known as Pokémon. Pokémon Red and Blue contain 151 Pokémon species, with new ones being added in subsequent games; as of January 2024, 1,025 Pokémon species have been introduced. Most Pokémon are inspired by real-world animals or mythical creatures based on real-life folklore. For example, Pikachu are
8364-443: The game they were beginning to envision would not be easy to make. Sugimori admitted that, at the time, no one at GF had much knowledge of RPGs. "We thought we could handle it, but as we began working, we realized it was going to be tough", he acknowledged. Pocket Monsters was suspended indefinitely, and GF turned their focus on other titles (see Game Freak § Games ). After the game's initial development phase in 1990 and 1991,
8487-495: The game's main designer, Ōyama was its art director, and Akabane was one of its chief debuggers. While card games have a long history in Japan , a collectible card game was a relatively new concept there, and at the time not widely known. Because of this, Ishihara had difficulties finding distributors. Sometime in 1995, Ishihara pitched the card game to Nintendo. They agreed to have the cards manufactured, subcontracting an unidentified printing company. However, Nintendo did not want
8610-479: The game's quality. A production council was formed to produce the anime. Different people appeared at different meetings, but four individuals usually present were Ishihara of Creatures, Sugimori of Game Freak, Yuyama of OLM, and independent producer Yoshikawa. Yoshikawa had the final say. The council decided on the anime's worldview, characters, general storyline, and various important details. The early meetings, which were also attended by Tajiri, usually started with
8733-418: The game(s). By 1996 , the seven-year-old Game Boy console was considered yesterday's news and near the end of its lifecycle . On the other hand, new Game Boys continued to be manufactured and sold. The console was widespread and, due to its age, affordable to children. Also, the Game Boy had experienced a small revival in Japan in 1995 due to the success of Mario's Picross . Coincidentally, this game
8856-462: The hassle of having to develop a distribution system from the ground up, i.e. finding retailers willing to sell a CCG. Ishihara was then contacted by Satoshi Kayama, director of a small firm called Media Factory . Like Ishihara, Kayama was a fan of card games. He felt that CCGs would soon rise to prominence in Japan, and had been gathering information on the possibility of developing such a game in some form. When Kayama heard that Creatures had developed
8979-694: The headquarters is planned to move in January 2025 to another high-rise building in Bellevue where it will occupy sixteen stories. The Pokémon Company International's office in the United Kingdom is located in London . Some Australian operations are controlled by Nintendo Australia . Pokémon Center Co., Ltd. was established in August 2011 to manage the Pokémon Center brand and stores in Japan. Its operations include operating
9102-581: The late 1980s, by which point Tajiri had become a respected game journalist in Japan's fledgling video game industry. Tajiri's knowledge of video games brought him into contact with Tsunekazu Ishihara . Ishihara had studied Arts and Science at Tsukuba University , and was trained in CGI . After working in advertising for two years, Ishihara joined a company named Sedic in 1983, which created video graphics and software, including one video game, Otocky (1987). As video games grew in popularity, Sedic also produced
9225-646: The late 1990s, this was the case for many anime in the US. Grossfeld came up with the advertising slogan "Gotta catch 'em all!" as the English equivalent to the Japanese Pokemon GETTO daze~! ( ポケモンゲットだぜー！ , Get (the) Pokémon!) . The phrase "miraculously managed to gain approval" by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which normally prohibits the use of injunctions in ads directed at children (e.g. "You must buy this!"). While
9348-515: The magazine it grew out of. Over the next few years, they independently developed the puzzle game Quinty , working on it alongside school or their regular jobs. However, no one within the group knew how to make the game's music . After consulting all his contacts, Tajiri got in touch with Junichi Masuda , who became the group's composer. Quinty was finished in 1989, and published by Namco . Tajiri officially incorporated Game Freak Co., Ltd. on April 26, 1989. Tajiri started to think of what
9471-531: The main CoroCoro magazine was read by one in four elementary school students. CoroCoro' s deputy editor-in-chief was Masakazu Kubo [ ja ] . On Ishihara's suggestion, Kubo commissioned the creation of a manga adaptation . Written and illustrated by Kosaku Anakubo [ ja ] , its first chapter was featured in the March/April issue of Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic , released on February 28, 1996,
9594-588: The most and second-most popular Pokemon at the time. On October 20, 1996, the first card set was released. Booster packs were launched the same day, containing 10 randomly inserted cards. In the West, the booster packs contained 11 cards. The original set would be titled the Base Set in English. Many more sets would follow. Despite being ignored by the media, except for the CoroCoro , the cards became an instant success upon release. 87 million Pokemon cards were shipped by
9717-604: The multimedia franchise which became too big to be managed only by them. It was founded in April 1998 originally to operate the Pokémon Center stores in Japan before expanding to the entire franchise in October 2000 as it rebranded to its current name. The company is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi , Minato, Tokyo . The company has separate subsidiaries that handle operations in different parts of
9840-559: The opposing Pokémon is sufficiently weakened, the Trainer throws the Poké Ball against the Pokémon, which is then transformed into a form of energy and transported into the device. Once the catch is successful, the Pokémon is tamed and is under the Trainer's command from then on. If the Poké Ball is thrown again, the Pokémon re-materializes into its original state. The Trainer's Pokémon can engage in battles against opposing Pokémon, including those in
9963-430: The ownership structure of Pokemon is uncommon. They wrote that "Pokemon is probably the only property in the world today for which the original rights are not concentrated in a single company", like The Walt Disney Company does with their IPs . Tajiri and Ishihara did consider merging Game Freak and Creatures at one point. However, Tajiri decided against it because he feared it would erase what he had built up since he
10086-495: The phrase "Capsule Monsters" was already registered. According to Hatakeyama & Kubo, the word "capsule" could not be used in the trademark. Tomisawa (2000) states that the Game Freak staff then came up with several alternatives, before someone within the team suggested "Pocket Monsters". In March 1989, Nintendo co-founded Ape, Inc. with Itoi. Ape's principal work was Mother (1989), a role-playing game written by Itoi, but it
10209-464: The project would never get finished". Ape, Inc. is not credited on the final product. The development contract was signed at the beginning of 1990, with a planned delivery of the game in October. Tajiri directed the project, working under Ishihara. Ishihara was the producer – he managed the budget, staff, and work schedule, monitored the game's overall progress, and served as a liaison between Game Freak and Nintendo. Ishihara also contributed ideas to
10332-504: The protagonist to start out with a different Pokemon. Hatakeyama and Kubo wrote that, by coincidence, three people independently suggested to the council that a Pikachu should be a main character in the anime: Kubo, Yuyama, and Keisuke Iwata of TV Tokyo's Film Department. In the end, all council members agreed that Pikachu should be one of Pocket Monsters ' central icons, as they expected Pikachu to appeal to both boys and girls, as well as their mothers. This would expand its audience, which
10455-416: The release of Pokemon Red and Green , Game Freak continued to grow, and a number of new employees were hired. For training purposes, they were ordered to study and make bug fixes to the source code of Red & Green , and to create new sprites for it; the test was later dubbed Pocket Monsters Blue . It was originally not meant to be sold. Only a small number of handmade copies were made, intended as
10578-441: The release of the platform game Pulseman , upon which Tajiri decided it was time to make a serious effort towards finishing Pocket Monsters . By this point, Game Freak's experience had grown considerably. Over the years, a number of new staff members had been added to the company. One of them was Atsuko Nishida , a graphic artist who created Pikachu , among others. Ishihara used his knowledge of card games to add more depth to
10701-499: The same amount as the launch budget of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. Arakawa admitted that it was "quite a bit of money", but NoA "had been doing well for several years, so we had a lot of money to spare". He opined that if Pokémon would be as successful in the US as it had been in Japan, "an investment of 1 would turn into 100". NoA and 4Kids proceeded to devise a strategy on how to localize Pokémon for
10824-547: The same time, in order for the franchise to continue, Ishihara wished to further expand the franchise with long-term goals, such as continuing the anime series, and releasing a movie every year. It was then decided that a new organization was needed in order to gather together all the strands of brand management. This led the three companies to turn The Pokémon Center Company into The Pokémon Company in order to further expand its scope, responsibilities, and areas of business. According to Satoru Iwata , establishing The Pokémon Company
10947-674: The show would fail. According to Kahn, they "spend a fortune" on the localization. To have it broadcast in syndication , 4Kids offered the show for free to local TV stations across the country, in exchange for a portion of the advertising revenue. NoA assisted, persuading dozens of stations to carry the series by offering to buy some of their advertisement space, spending a total of $ 5 million (c. $ 9.35 million in 2023). Despite all this, most broadcasters were still reluctant to carry Pokémon , with Grossfeld experiencing difficulties getting through their "preconceived notions or their snobbery for Western-produced animation over something from Asia". At
11070-511: The slogan into the theme. While NoA and 4Kids were allowed a fair degree of liberty in their localization of Pokémon , the Japanese copyright council, headed by Ishihara, had the last say over it. All decisions regarding adjustments and promotion had to gain final approval of the Japan side. This included all of the merchandise, for which a 'two-step system' was created. All (aspiring) licensees in North America were to send their merchandise proposals to 4Kids. Staff of both 4Kids and NoA then made
11193-420: The staff "tinkered with it from time to time", as Sugimori put it. For instance, by October 1992, a large number of Pokemon had been designed, and a poll was held that month among all staff members to gauge the popularity of the different species. Several more such votes followed to determine collectively which Pokemon should be included. Still, development had mostly come to a halt until the summer of 1994, after
11316-438: The syllables of its name. Yuyama realized that, even in the latter style of limited communication, Otani was experienced enough to still convey the messages and emotions needed. ShoPro paid half of the production cost of Pokemon . TV Tokyo paid the other half and was granted co-ownership of the anime. The ads during the show ' s commercial breaks were managed by advertisement agency JR Kikaku [ ja ] , which
11439-459: The tagline does sound commanding, the FCC reasoned that the act of catching is at the core of Pokémon ' s play. Therefore, the phrase was allowed. The series' theme song was written by John Loeffler and John Siegler and performed by Jason Paige . In commissioning the track, Grossfeld specifically requested the song's chorus to be written around the "Gotta catch 'em all" phrase, firmly embedding
11562-457: The team got lucky. "The probability of so many great people coming together at the same time is very low", he said. Per Tajiri's explicit condition, every anime team member had to play the game extensively, including the illustrators and voice actors. The anime staff "unanimously agreed that the game was interesting" and "felt connected with each other through the world of Pokemon ", feeling positively challenged to make an anime that would match
11685-515: The time, Ishihara was particularly interested in Magic: The Gathering . While developing the Pokemon RPG, he realized that the concept behind it could be adapted into a Magic -like CCG. The Pokemon Trading Card Game was designed by Ishihara, Akihiko Miura, Kōichi Ōyama, and Takumi Akabane. All were former staff members of Ape and had previously worked on EarthBound (1994): Miura was
11808-414: The time, Ishihara was probably the most well-connected man in the industry, with a knowledge of games "beyond comparison". Ishihara was also interested in playing cards , and contributed to the development of at least three simple card games designed by Itoi and published by Ape. In 1986, Tajiri, Sugimori, and a few other enthusiasts started an informal development team called Game Freak, named after
11931-461: The time, anime had not yet found mainstream popularity in the West. Contemporary news reports cited Sailor Moon as an example of an anime that had failed to catch on with American youth. Still, with NoA's help, 4Kids ultimately succeeded in contracting 112 broadcasters for Pokémon , reaching "about 85 to 90 percent" of television households. However, many broadcasters gave it off-peak time slots, with starting times like 06:00 or 06:30. Prior to
12054-417: The total number of cards shipped reached 764 million. By March 2000, this figure would grow further to 4.255 billion cards, manufactured in both Japanese and American factories. By April 1999, there was a general consensus in the US that Pokémon had become a phenomenon and the newest children's fad . By some, the fad was referred to as "Pokémania", including journalists of Time and USA Today . In
12177-638: The use of different colored cartridges for the game, in response to Tajiri's and Ishihara's musings about making each playthrough slightly different, as to 'individualize' the player's experience. According to Tajiri, "five or seven colors" were considered, but they eventually settled on two: Red and Green . Otherwise identical, each had Pokemon not found in the other, encouraging players to socialize and trade to complete their collection. Ishihara aspired to create video games of his own. As Pocket Monsters Red and Green were nearing completion, Ishihara founded Creatures, Inc. on November 8, 1995. Upon founding,
12300-451: The wild or owned by other Trainers. Because the franchise is aimed at children, these battles are never presented as overtly violent and contain no blood or gore. Pokémon never die in battle – they faint upon being defeated, and can then be rejuvenated at a Pokémon Center. When a Pokémon wins a battle, it gains experience points . After gaining a certain amount of it, the Pokémon levels up, and its statistics rise. As its level increases,
12423-735: The world, with the Pokémon Company International supporting the territories outside Asia and being responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and the official Pokémon website on the territories outside Asia, including America and Europe . Since 2001, The Pokémon Company has handled publication of all Pokémon video games in Japan, while Nintendo handles distribution and worldwide co-publication with The Pokémon Company International. Both companies work together in localization, production, QA, and other aspects, while development
12546-452: Was Shogakukan's production company. The animation company they commissioned was OLM, Inc. (Oriental Light and Magic), on Kubo's suggestion. Kunihiko Yuyama , one of OLM's founding members, became the anime's director. ShoPro assembled a team of five writers, plus two supporting writers. All key people involved with the production of Pokemon were well-experienced and had proven track records within Japan's anime industry. Yoshikawa felt that
12669-433: Was Takashi Kawaguchi, who worked at Nintendo's General Affairs Department and was also a manager at Ape. Kawaguchi brought the idea to Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi , who reportedly said: "This is it. This is the idea I've been waiting for." By pure coincidence, Ishihara had come up with an idea for a game similar to that of Tajiri, and around the same time was discussing it with Ape. This game, Toto , involved "using
12792-405: Was a general understanding among businesses that the anime was not canceled, but rather suspended, and many executives (correctly) expected the show to be resumed after precautions had been taken. Supermarkets and other distribution outlets responded calmly to the crisis, and did not remove Pokemon products from their sales floors. "When we started this project in Japan, one of the first things I
12915-542: Was a stark contrast compared to previous years: "I was trying to sell this sort of stuff for years and buyers would tell me they were moving away from Japanese animation shows", he said. In October 1999, the franchise was launched in the European key markets of Germany , the United Kingdom , France , and Spain . The anime started broadcasting in Denmark , Norway , and Sweden in December 1999. In 2000, broadcasting rights for
13038-483: Was a teenager. "I felt threatened by the idea of changing how Game Freak was operating, and starting back over with Mr. Ishihara", he said. "It was an identity problem. If Game Freak ceased to exist, then so would I". Tajiri noted that, since Game Freak and Creatures both focus on Pokemon , it sometimes felt more like different departments than different companies. Pocket Monsters Red and Green were finally finished in December 1995. A release date of December 21, 1995
13161-522: Was also founded with the intent to give outside talent a chance to pitch new, innovative games. At the time, Ape was housed in the same Kanda-Sudachō office building as Nintendo, located in Tokyo . Ishihara, a friend of both Itoi and Tajiri, was involved with Ape's management (and would become its vice-president in 1991). Tajiri's relationship with Ishihara prompted Tajiri to present his idea for Pocket Monsters at Ape's office. Present during Tajiri's pitch
13284-520: Was announced, but missed. After sufficient cartridges, manuals and packages had been manufactured, the pair of games ended up being published on February 27, 1996. However, the property was copyrighted in 1995, and "© 1995" is shown on the title screens and cartridges. This year is since used on the copyright notice seen on many Pokemon products, even though no actual Pokemon product was released in 1995. Nintendo had no high expectations of Pocket Monsters Red and Green , and media largely ignored
13407-721: Was born on August 28, 1965, and grew up in Machida , a suburb of Tokyo . As a child, he enjoyed discovering and catching insects and other small creatures in the various ponds and fields that surrounded his town. During Japan's economic miracle , many cities, including Machida, were significantly expanded. As a consequence , Machida's nature was largely destroyed. In his second year of junior high school , an arcade hall opened in Tajiri's neighborhood, introducing him to video games . While studying electrical engineering at Tokyo College of Technology [ ja ] , Tajiri began publishing
13530-428: Was considered a core objective of the anime. During the council's first meeting, Yoshikawa brought up the issue on whether the Pokemon in the anime could talk, and if not, how they could communicate. In the video games, each has a specific cry. In Anakubo's CoroCoro manga , most could speak. At first, the council believed there should be a mixture of Pokemon that could talk and some that could not. However, this idea
13653-596: Was directed by Ishihara, and co-developed by Ape. The popularity of Mario's Picross incited Nintendo to develop the Game Boy Pocket , a slimmer and improved version of the Game Boy, released in Japan on July 21, 1996. Because of the timing and naming, some were under the impression that the Game Boy Pocket was made to promote Pocket Monsters , but this was in fact a coincidence that would end up benefiting both. Two media channels that would play important roles in
13776-496: Was eventually discarded: the Pokemon had to make a specific cry. The council agreed that Pokemon were like animals, and while they and humans should be able to understand each other in the series, they should not speak each other's language. It was decided that Pikachu would repeatedly say its own name in various intonations. The role of Pikachu was given to Ikue Otani . During try-outs, Yuyama had Otani voice Pikachu in normal Japanese, as well as in 'Pikachu talk', in which it only said
13899-609: Was founded to manage the company's operations in South Korea. Its headquarters is located in Seoul . In 2009, Pokémon USA and Pokémon UK merged to become The Pokémon Company International, which handles American and European Pokémon operations under the administration of Kenji Okubo. The company's office in the United States is located in Bellevue, Washington , at the Lincoln Square complex;
14022-421: Was halted, and new guidelines were implemented to help prevent similar events from happening. With the show on hiatus , ShoPro and OLM worked on a feature Pokemon film. By the time the incident occurred, its script was already written, and the movie was in the storyboard stage. In mid-January, the staff resumed creating new episodes. The anime series returned on April 16, 1998. The film, titled Pocket Monsters
14145-483: Was hesitant, noting that if the anime would flop, it would negatively affect the popularity of the game. Ishihara initially opposed the idea, because he thought it would overly hasten the 'consumption' of the property: he feared that if the series would end, people would assume that Pokemon has ended, and move on to the next thing. At the time, Creatures and Game Freak were planning the sequel(s) to Red and Green , Pokemon Gold and Silver , and Ishihara did not want
14268-412: Was in turn paid by sponsors buying advertisement space. In negotiating with TV Tokyo, Kubo managed to secure the 19:00 – 19:30 timeslot on Tuesdays. Pocket Monsters premiered on April 1, 1997. By November, it had become the highest-rated program on TV Tokyo. The anime succeeded in its goal of widening Pokemon ' s audience. Although the video games and the cards remained mostly of interest to boys,
14391-542: Was influenced by Magic: The Gathering , the first CCG in history. Indeed, the Pokemon Trading Card Game can be considered a simplified version of Magic . First released in the United States in 1993, Magic had gained popularity not just in North America and Europe, but also in Asia. Ishihara was fond of playing cards , and had contributed to the development of at least three simple card games designed by Shigesato Itoi and released through Ape, Inc. At
14514-404: Was made to resemble the TV series more. In the early months of the franchise, Nintendo was the contractual representative for Pokemon , and thus the central contact point for all Pokemon -related licensing (the approval of branded products). Around the time that planning of the anime begun, licensing requests for Pokemon started to increase, which Nintendo had difficulties handling due to
14637-409: Was one of his first projects at Nintendo. Managing the Pokémon Center stores is still a pillar for the company. In total, there are stores in 11 locations: Sapporo , Tohoku ( Sendai ), Tokyo , Skytree Town (Oshiage), Tokyo-Bay ( Chiba ), Yokohama , Nagoya , Kyoto , Osaka , Hiroshima and Fukuoka . The United States branch (Pokémon USA, Inc.) opened in 2001 to handle licensing overseas in
14760-413: Was then the third-largest bankruptcy in Japan's postwar history. Nonetheless, due to their Pokemon -licensed products, Nagatanien reported net profits in fiscal years '97 and '98, despite having forecasted losses. In the evening of December 16, 1997, the Pokemon franchise was hit by a crisis related to the broadcast of the anime's 38th episode, " Dennō Senshi Porygon " (Computer Warrior Porygon). It
14883-471: Was to become Pokemon while completing Quinty , and before he officially founded Game Freak. Around this time, Nintendo announced the upcoming release of the Game Boy , a handheld console that would revolutionize the gaming industry. Tajiri learned that the device would have a link port , and with the corresponding Game Link Cable , two Game Boys could be linked together. Sometime later, Tajiri remembered an incident while playing Dragon Quest II (1987),
15006-468: Was told was that this kind of thing would never appeal to American audiences. They said, 'Because the characters are in a very Japanese style, you cannot sell them to Americans'. So from the very beginning, I never thought there would be an English version. Now, it's just as popular in the United States [as in Japan], and I realized that we shouldn't always believe the opinions of conservative marketers." Possibly
15129-438: Was watched by approximately 4.6 million households. In the episode, the cast is transported into a virtual world, accompanied by a Porygon , a digital, human-made Pokemon. While flying through cyberspace, they are attacked by an anti-virus program which mistakes them for viruses, shooting "vaccine missiles" at the group resulting in explosions of bright, rapidly swapping red and blue flashes. The intense stimuli brought about by
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