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The Pokémon series is a group of games that revolve around special types of creatures known as Pocket Monsters (in the original Japanese) or Pokémon for short. Most of the games revolve around catching and training Pokémon. The games initially became a cultural phenomena akin to Mario years ago following the games' worldwide release during the end of the 90s. The series has expanded with various spin-offs that play off of the mainstream games and allow the player to assume different roles within the world such as that of a photographer, researcher or Pokémon ranger, in addition to games where players can directly control Pokémon. There are currently nine generations of Pokémon games, with the total number of Pokémon species having surpassed 1000.

Premise[edit]

Pokemon
Developer	Game Freak
Games	List of all games
Debut	Pokémon: Red, Green and Blue Versions (1996)

The core Pokémon series follows a silent protagonist on a quest to capture all of the different types of Pokémon. The player must also train these Pokémon to face various challenges such as the eight gym leaders and the Elite Four, who must be conquered to become a Pokémon Champion. Each generation also traditionally has its own unique evil corporation or some other type of antagonist that the player must defeat. The games utilize RPG-like gameplay for battles, with turn-based actions being selected on a menu. The mainstream Pokémon series started as an exclusively handheld series, but it has transitioned to a hybrid console after the release of the Nintendo Switch.

The term "generation" has been coined to describe different sets of Pokémon games that have arise over the years. A generation usually begins with two different versions of the same game. The versions usually have primarily minor differences, although later games have been making more significant differences between original versions. The primary change is in the availability of certain Pokémon, which causes the emphasis on trading Pokémon between players in order to collect all of the Pokémon of a certain region, and later generations also have functions to trade with previous generations. There is also typically a third version in a generation which will feature more significant alterations to the plot or setting, such as the addition of new characters and plotlines, as well as continuing to switch around the availability of certain species. The first generation is the only one so far to feature four versions instead of the original three. Each generation is typically set at a different region, with a fresh set of characters and a new plotline as well as a new set of around 100 Pokémon.

The other games are various spin-offs which have arisen over the years and place the Pokémon in various different settings. Some explore the Pokémon universe from other points of view, while others simply utilize other genres in a Pokémon setting such as pinball or puzzles. Other games also have ways of linking up to the mainstream games to unlock more Pokémon. Two of the more prominent subseries to arise have started with the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Pokémon Ranger. The Gamecube also notably featured two games which were closest to the mainstream series, Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, which had their own RPG-oriented story mode and could even trade Pokémon with the Game Boy Advance color versions.

History[edit]

The Pokémon series was actually conceived back in 1990, just a year after the release of the Game Boy and the formation of Game Freak. Satoshi Tajiri started with the idea of trading insects between Game Boys, and the original title was Capsule Monsters until it was changed to Pocket Monsters due to trademark issues. The initial game spent six years in development before it was released in 1996 as two different versions: the Red Version and Green Version. This served Tajiri's original goal, as players would have to trade between their games to get all of the Pokémon, as one could only obtain a certain amount of the 150 Pokémon using just one game. There was also a hidden 151st Pokémon, Mew, which was inserted at the last minute and could be obtained primarily through Nintendo events.

The games initially had lukewarm sales, but the popularity began building up with the revelation of Mew and the release of the tie-in trading card game as well as the beginning of the popular anime and manga series. The next version to be released within the same year was the Blue Version, which was merely a graphically updated version of the previous two games. The series went international in 1998 with the release of Red and Blue Versions. These Versions were a mix of the previous Japanese versions: they were the original Red and Green, modified with the graphics from Blue. 1998 also marked the beginning of the Pokémon Stadium subseries, which was a console tie-in series on the Nintendo 64 where players could link up their individual versions, and the game focused on the battling part of the games. Several other spin-offs also began to arise for both handhelds and consoles in the late 90s such as Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Pinball, and the first generation was eventually concluded with Pokémon: Yellow Version, another variation on the original game which added elements from the anime series.

The second generation of games launched in 1999 with the release of Pokémon: Gold and Silver Versions on the Game Boy Color. These games expanded upon the first generation with new mechanics such as Pokémon gender and a breeding system as well as a built-in clock with a day/night system. Although the game was set in a new region called Johto, it was established to be connected to the first generation's setting, Kanto, Various characters and locations from the first generation could be revisited, and the last opponent was even the previous player protagonist, something which so far has only been unique to the second generation. Although the second generation was designed as the "ultimate" Pokémon, the popularity of the series propelled them to continue the series. The second generation was rounded out by Pokémon: Crystal Version, which added a new plotline and some gameplay features such as the choice of the player character's gender, which would recur in later games.

The series eventually arrived on the Game Boy Advance with the third generation in 2002. Pokémon: Ruby and Sapphire Versions were set in an entirely new continent and featured various alternations to the gameplay, and they were also incompatible with the preceding Game Boy games. Ruby and Sapphire notably both featured different stories, and each story had a different set of antagonists. The Emerald Version would later combine both storylines while adding a new area called the Battle Frontier. The Battle Frontier became an optional battle-based challenge within the games. The first generation games were also remade for the Game Boy Advance as Pokémon: FireRed and LeafGreen Versions and were capable of trading with the third generation games.

The fourth generation was launched in 2006 with Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Versions for the Nintendo DS. These versions added some new features while reprising others from the second generation such as the day and night system. The version differences also were less drastic than the third generation. Pokémon: Platinum Version was the last game in the generation and featured alterations to the storyline as well as a new Battle Frontier. They were soon followed by DS remakes of the second generation, Pokémon: HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, which like FireRed/LeafGreen, added features from later generations combined with graphical updates. The series was then revamped for the fifth generation in 2010 with the development of Pokémon: Black and White Versions. These games featured a different kind of setting in the form of Unova version (based on the United States, marking the first Pokémon region not based on part of Japan), an emphasis on new Pokémon and a darker storyline as well as variations on the formulas of previous games. This game could also connect to the internet, with a feature known as the Pokémon Dream World. It received a pair of sequel games in 2012.

The sixth generation games, Pokémon: X and Y, were released in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS, introducing the Fairy type to the series and featuring a gameplay element known as Mega Evolution. This was later accompanied by 3DS remakes of the third generation games, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in 2014. The 3DS also hosted the seventh generation, whjch started with Sun and Moon 2016, which marked a beginning of The Pokémon Company focusing on making a core Pokémon release each year. These games featured a variation on the Pokémon formula, as it featured island trials instead of the standard gym leader challenge. Set in the Alola region (based on the Hawaiian Island), this generation introduced regional variants of Pokémon from previous games while continuing to add new species of Pokémon, including featuring a unique group of interdimensional Pokémon known as Ultra Beasts. This generation also featured Z-Moves and Totem Pokémon. This was followed up by Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon in 2017, which were remakes of Sun and Moon that added more Pokémon, including some additional new species and forms, as well as altering and adding various plot elements. Afterwards, a pair of games were made for the Nintendo Switch that were based on Pokémon: Yellow Version combined with gameplay from the mobile Pokémon Go, known as Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.

The transition to the Switch continued with the eight generation games, Pokémon Sword and Shield, which were released in 2019. Set in the Galar region, this featured an open area known as the Wild Area and featured a mix of Pokémon appearing in the wild and Pokémon encounters that were generated by walking in certain areas like tall grass. It also has the Dynamax gameplay feature, which was also used for special Raid Battles. It also cemented something that was started with Let's Go!, as not every Pokémon could be caught within or transferred into these games, thus placing a limit on the Pokémon that could appear in each generation. Sword and Shield were also the first Pokémon games to receive DLC, which was released in the following year: the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra. These added more Pokémon from past generations, some new Legendary Pokémon and new Gigantamax forms while also adding other new features such as Dynamax Adventures. At the end of 2021, the remakes continued with remakes of the fourth generation games, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Development of these remakes were handed off to ICLA, marking the first core Pokémon games to not be directly made by Gamefreak. Unlike past remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl did not try to match the style of the current generation, nor did they include any gameplay elements from later generations beyond a few elements like including the Fairy type.

This was followed months later, in January of 2022, by the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, an entry which marked a dramatic departure from previous mainline Pokémon games, as it was set in a past era and featured a unique plot instead of any Pokémon League challenge. It featured open environments in which players could attempt to catch Pokémon without battles and in which the trainer themselves could be targeted by Pokémon. This was followed by the ninth generation games in November of 2022, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. These games featured a variation of the Pokémon formula, as it once again featured a Pokémon League challenge in the new region of Paldea (based on Spain), but it featured an open world in which players could choose the order in which they took on the game's challenges, which were divided into three storyline paths: the standard Pokémon League challenge, Titan Pokémon and Team Star. This generation also featured Terastallization as a successor to the previous generation's Dynamax. Like Sword and Shield, this game received DLC which brought the player to other locales and brought in more Pokémon from past generations, but this time the DLC's settings were outside of the generation's regional setting. The first part of the DLC was set in Kitakami, another Japan-inspired area, while the second part was set at the Blueberry Academy in Unova, referencing the fifth generation games.

Side Games[edit]

In addition to the main series games, there are also many side games that have been released over the years, many of which have formed their own subseries.

Some early Pokémon spin-offs included Pokémon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy, which based on the popular trading card game and had a sequel that was only released in Japan. Pokémon Snap was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998 and was based around taking pictures of various Pokémon on an island. There have also been two different pinball games, one for the first generation in 1999 and one for the third generation in 2003.

Pokémon Stadium was released for the Nintendo 64 during the first generation as a way to play with Pokémon on home consoles with 3-D graphics. Pokémon could be transferred to and from the Game Boy games, with opportunities to collect special Pokémon through these games. Several Stadium games were made for the Nintendo 64, followed by Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for the Gamecube, which featured their own original RPG story modes. The last game of this vein was Pokémon Battle Revolution for the Nintendo Wii in 2006. The Nintendo 64 also saw the release of Hey You, Pikachu!, a game where the player could use a microphone to interact with Pikachu in a variety of environments.

Several puzzle games have been made based on the series, starting with Pokémon Puzzle Challenge and Pokémon Puzzle League, both of which were released in 2000 and based on the Panel De Pon gameplay. Puzzle Challenge was released for the Game Boy Color and featured Pokémon from the second generation games, while Puzzle League was made for the Nintendo 64 and featured characters from the anime series. In 2005, a new puzzle game called Pokémon Trozei! was released for the DS, and it was later followed by Pokémon Battle Trozei for the 3DS in 2014. Two free Pokémon puzzle games were released for the 3DS in 2015: Pokémon Shuffle (which was based on the Trozei! games) and Pokémon Picross.

In 2003, Pokémon Channel was released for the Gamecube, which featured elements from a number of genres and allowed for interactions with a number of Pokémon. Several games were later made for the primary purpose of storing Pokémon from the handheld games and possibly unlocking new ones, such as Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire for the Gamecube and My Pokémon Ranch for the Wii. There was also Pokémon Dash, a racing game released for the DS in 2004. Pikachu was later featured in a pair of adventure games for the Wii released in 2009 and 2011, respectively: PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure and PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond. There was also an educational typing game released in 2011, called Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure.

In 2005, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon subseries started with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Teams for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. These games were developed by Spine-Chunsoft based on their popular Japanese RPG series Mystery Dungeon, featuring a player character who is turned into a Pokémon and ends up in a world inhabited solely by Pokémon. This has spawned a series that has received a number of installments over the years, with many of the installments being released with multiple versions. In 2006, Pokémon Ranger was released for the DS. This game followed the adventures of a Pokémon Ranger, who temporarily catches Pokémon with something called a capture styler. This game inspired two sequels, but has yet to continue past the DS's lifespan.

Pokémon Rumble started off as WiiWare released in 2009. This game features the player controlling a Pokémon fighting other Pokémon in different environments, with melee-based gameplay. It inspired a series of sequels across different systems. In 2016, Pokkén Tournament was released for the Wii U. This is a fighting game by Bandai Namco featuring several different Pokémon and based on the gameplay of their Tekken series. A game called Detective Pikachu was released for the 3DS in 2018 (after a limited Japanese release in 2016). This game featured a fledgling detective working with a talking Pikachu to solve mysteries, and it was followed by a sequel for the Nintendo Switch in 2023 called Detective Pikachu Returns. Pokémon Snap also received a long-awaited sequel in the form of New Pokémon Snap for the Switch in 2021.

Pokémon has also thrived with mobile games. This started with Niantic's Pokémon Go in 2016, an AR game allowing players to catch and train Pokémon while walking around in the real world. It became a cultural phenomenon rivaling the original worldwide release of Pokémon, and since then the core games have featured several tie-ins with that mobile game. Other mobile games have included Magikarp Jump! and mobile versions of other Pokémon games such as Pokémon Rumble and Pokémon Shuffle. In 2018, a new type of Pokémon RPG was released in the form of Pokémon Quest for both the Switch and mobile. Pokémon Masters (renamed Pokémon Masters EX after its first anniversary) launched in 2019 and acted as a gacha game featuring various characters from the core games (along with several original characters and occasional guest characters from the anime) and original storylines. A Pokémon puzzle game called Pokémon Cafe Mix (later renamed Pokémon Cafe ReMix) has also been running both on mobile and the Switch since 2020. There was also a free-to-play battle arena game called Pokémon Unite, which has been running on both mobile and the Switch since 2021. Other mobile Pokémon apps include 2021's Pokémon Smile and 2023's Pokémon Sleep, which tie Pokémon into brushing one's teeth and sleeping, respectively.

Spin-Offs/Crossovers[edit]

The Pokémon series has been represented in Nintendo's crossover fighting series, Super Smash Bros., since the first game. Pikachu and Jigglypuff have been present as playable characters since the first game, and later games have added Pichu, Mewtwo, Lucario, a Pokémon Trainer (based on Red and alternating between using Ivysaur, Squirtle and Charizard), Charizard, Greninja and Incineroar as playable characters. The series has also been represented in the form of stages, items, enemies and musical tracks based on the series, as well as trophies of different characters and other elements from throughout the game. The Smash Bros. series has also prominently featured the Poké Ball as an item; when thrown, the Pokémon unleashes one of many Pokémon at random, which goes on to temporarily attack the other players or have some effect on the environment, although some of the summoned Pokémon do nothing at all.

In 2012, Pokémon Conquest was released. Developed by Tecmo Koei, this game acts as a crossover with the Nobunaga's Ambition series, featuring warriors and warlords who fight with Pokémon.

Other Media[edit]

Anime[edit]

The prime Pokémon anime series began airing in 1997 and remained airing in its original form until 2023. The anime followed the adventures of Ash Ketchum, a character based on the first generation protagonist Red, and his loyal Pikachu. The anime has followed the games in terms of regions and Pokémon, with a corresponding series for each generation. When the Kanto series was finished prior to the release of the second generation games, an original arc set in the Orange Islands was created to buy time for the next games to come out. There was also a Battle Frontier series which acknowledged FireRed/LeafGreen as well as Emerald by being set in Kanto. The anime has also deviated from the game series in several key ways, with one of the most notable being that Team Rocket have appeared as recurring antagonists for nearly every episode throughout each series. Unlike in the games, Giovanni has never been definitively challenged and beaten, so Team Rocket never disbanded and remained active throughout the duration of the series. The agents appearing in every episode were original characters named Jessie and James, who are always accompanied by their talking Meowth. There have also been annual anime movies starring the cast, which usually focuses on a legendary Pokémon and/or introduces new Pokémon from a coming generation. Later movies included CGI remakes of past movies/specials and a series of movies set in their own fresh continuity separate from that of the main anime (but still featuring Ash and Pikachu). The anime's localization was successful and continues to this day, although most of the English voice actors were changed once the localization rights changed hands from 4Kids Entertainment to The Pokémon Company in 2006.

The supporting characters have been shuffled throughout the series. At first, the gym leaders Brock and Misty appeared as Ash's supporting companions. Brock was briefly replaced by an original character named Tracy Sketchit during the Orange Islands arc, and Misty left permanently after the Johto series. In later series, Ash's new female companion would be the female player character from the corresponding game: May during the Hoenn/Battle Frontier series (who was joined by her brother Max, an original character, for the Hoenn portion) and Dawn during the Sinnoh series. For the Unova series, Brock departed permanently from the main cast, with Cilan and Iris, gym leaders (and a potential champion) from that generation, acting as Ash's new companions. The Kalos series featured Serena, Clemont and Bonnie (the female protagonist, a gym leader and his sister) as companions, while the Alola series featured a revamped animation style with an ensemble cast consisting of Ash and jihs classmates (Lillie, Kiawe, Mallow, Lana and Sophocles) who eventually became a group of Ultra Guardians.

The end of the Alola series, in which Ash finally won a championship outside of the Orange Islands, led to a new shift in the series. Rather than make a series set in Galar (the setting of Pokémon Sword and Shield), the following series (known as Pokémon Journeys) involved Ash traveling between all eight of the games' regions to compete in a worldwide tournament known as the World Coronation Series, while incorporating elements based on both Pokémon Go and Sword/Shield. Ash's new companion for this series was an original character named Goh. This ultimately turned out to be a finale for Ash, as it ended with him winning the world championship. This was followed by a miniseries that acted as a farewell for Ash, featuring him reuniting with past companions and his previous Pokémon partners. Afterwards, the main Pokémon anime was replaced by a new series called Pokémon Horizons, which was based on the ninth generation games and starred a new pair of protagonists named Liko and Roy along with a new supporting cast. A Pikachu was still present, known as Captain Pikachu.

Aside from the main Pokémon anime, there have been several other short series over the years. Produced by The Pokémon Company, these works tended to be closer to the games in how they depict the Pokémon world. In 2013, Pokémon Origins was a film split into four parts and was based more directly on the first generation games, telling the story of Red's Pokémon journey. There was also Pokémon Chronicles in 2016, a series of 16 shorts that were all based on different parts of game canon from the first six generations. In 2020, there was Pokémon: Twilight Wings, an eight-episode limited series of shorts released online that were based on the setting and characters of Sword/Shield. In 2021, the miniseries was Pokémon Evolutions, which had eight episodes that depicted events based on the games, with each episode focusing on a different generation. In 2022, Pokémon: Hisuian Snow was released as an anime miniseries based on the setting of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and 2023 saw the release of a four-episode miniseries based on Scarlet/Violet in the form of Pokémon: Paldean Winds. There have also been miniseries made to promote other parts of the Pokémon franchise: in 2023, a series of five shorts called Cube-Shaped Pokémon on Cubie Island?! was released as a promotion for Pokémon Quest, and there was also a four-part animated series called Pokémon: Path to the Peak which was based on the Pokémon Trading Card Game and was set in some variation of the real world, following a girl named Ava as she gets into competing with Pokémon trading cards.

The Pokémon Company has also released a number of shorts inspired by Western animation. From 2020 to 2021, there were eight shorts released under the banner of POKÉTOON: The Pokémon Cartoon Animation with shorts taking inspiration from different aspects of Western animation such as stop-motion animation and Looney Tunes-style slapstick comedy. There was also Bidoof's Big Stand in 2022, an standalone animated short about the exploits of a Bidoof. In 2023, a short called The Journey of One's Dream was released in China and India.

Manga[edit]

The Pokémon Adventures manga started in 1997. Written by Hidenori Kusaka and featuring art by Mato (for the first nine volumes) followed by Satoshi Yamamoto, this manga more closely follows the game's events while taking on a darker tone. There are multiples arcs featuring trainers whose names are adapted directly from the different color versions, with the earliest trainers being Red, Blue and Green. There has been a Red/Green/Blue arc (with Green being a female trainer based on an used female starting trainer) followed by Yellow (which featured an original character named Yellow), Gold/Silver/Crystal, Ruby/Sapphire, FireRed/LeafGreen (which reprises the characters from the first three arcs), Emerald (which winds up concluding FireRed/LeafGreen and introducing a new trainer named Emerald), Diamond/Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSilver, Black/White, Black 2/White 2, X/Y, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire and Sun/Moon. The manga still takes some liberties with the plot, such as the Yellow arc introducing the Elite Four as villains. Later arcs have had characters who are closer to their game portrayals.

There have also been a variety of other manga adaptations, many of which are short-term mangas that are only based on individual games. One of the more well-known mangas, due to its localization as The Electric Tale of Pikachu, was a manga based on the anime that lasted for four volumes. There has also been a long-running gag manga exclusive to Japan.

Film[edit]

In 2019, a live action film was made based on the Detective Pikachu spin-off game, known as Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. It starred Ryan Reynolds as the voice of the titular Pikachu, while Justice Smith played the human protagonist, Tim Goodman. The film's story is loosely based on that of the games, but it also features a number of deviations and a different ending which gives a clear resolution to the story of Tim's father. The film utilized CGI to show various Pokémon with a photorealistic style. It received a mix of reviews. The movie made enough to break several records in terms of films based on video games, but it still apparently performed below expectations compared to the budget that was used to make it.

Portal: Pokémon

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