Pokémon

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Pokémon (ポケモン, Pokemon, pronounced /'poʊ.kɛ.mɑn/, although frequently, and even intentionally mispronounced /poʊ.ki.'mæn/), is a multi-billion dollar media franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996 (it celebrated its tenth anniversary on February 27, 2006). The original Game Boy video games have since been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books and other media. The name, Pokémon, is a portmanteau of its Japanese name, “Pocket Monsters” (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā). The game’s catchphrase, in the English language versions of the franchise, used to be “Gotta catch ’em all!”, although it is now no longer officially used (except by Hasbro and in the title sequence to Pokémon Chronicles).

The concept of the Pokémon saga stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime in Japan, and one which Pokémon's creator Satoshi Tajiri had enjoyed as a child. Tajiri’s formula took off in Japan and was adapted (and translated) in 1998 for the American market, with the release of Pokémon Red and Blue. These games allowed players to catch, collect, and train hundreds of creatures, known as Pokémon; and battle them against each other to build their strength. These Pokémon could then “evolve” into more powerful Pokémon and learn new and stronger techniques. Pokémon never bleed or die in battle, only faint - (however they can still become confused, poisoned, paralyzed, frozen, sent to sleep and burned) this was a very touchy subject to Tajiri, as he didn’t want to further fill the gaming world with "pointless violence".

Pokémon is also the collective name for all of the fictional species within the Pokémon universe. To date, the franchise has a grand total of Template:Pokenum unique species that lie at the heart of the series, a figure which has grown substantially from the 151 monsters in the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue games. The name can either be singular or plural (such as deer or moose), and the same applies to each species name.

In December 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had managed the non-game related licensing of Pokémon, announced that it has agreed not to renew the Pokémon representation agreement. Pokemon USA Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Pokémon Co., now oversees all Pokémon licensing outside of Asia.

Setting

While each medium has slight variations, there are a few notably persistent characteristics of the world in which Pokémon is set. It is apparently an alternate version of Earth, as real-world locations are occasionally mentioned, though not seen. Real animals are also conspicuously absent, with a few exceptions, but the inhabitants do seem to have knowledge of terrestrial fauna, since many Pokémon are classified by their resemblance to such creatures. Another theory is that Pokémon is based in the future, as technology is fairly advanced and Earth is seen in basically all of the movies. When characters in the anime eat meat, it is often unclear what the source is, though Farfetch’d is mentioned as a food source in both the anime and the games. The Pokémon world, at least in the regions seen so far, is characterized by human settlements (often quite small) which are nestled in vast, mostly-unspoiled wilderness. Even the large cities seen in the anime are usually surrounded by lush forests. In contrast to development, technology seems to be fairly advanced, as evinced by devices such as Poké Balls, teleportation machines, Pokégear and the commonness of videophones. At the same time, transportation technology, while inexplicably equivalent to modern-day technology in our world, is little-used. Automobiles are rarely seen, especially outside of cities, and accordingly, common routes are often unpaved. There do not appear to be many major airports; long-distance travel is often accomplished by sea. Trains exist in some places, but for the most part, the people walk to their destinations, although several roads exist designed specifically for bicycles. This is well-suited to the lifestyle of Pokémon trainers, who must naturally explore new areas to catch new specimens.

Generations

All of the licensed Pokémon properties overseen by The Pokémon Company are divided roughly by generation. There have been three generations, defined by the Pokémon which appear therein, and a fourth is in development. Each of these generations has been first introduced in a pair of Pokémon video games for the Game Boy or its successors (including the Nintendo DS), beginning (in most countries) with Pokémon Red and Blue with Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver which were later released. Each generation introduces a slew of new Pokémon and a handful of new general concepts.

These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; a handful of Pokémon from a subsequent generation appear in the anime, manga, or trading card game before the main Game Boy games which demarcate the generation are released, but the anime, manga, and even (of late) the card game divides itself into sagas or generations by the same scheme as the games.

Some of the general concepts were introduced elsewhere, before being introduced in the games. Two-on-two battles appeared in the anime long before appearing in the games, and Pokémon Abilities are similar to Pokémon Powers, introduced long before in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

First generation

This first generation started with Pokémon Red and Blue. The first generation introduced the original 151 Pokémon, as well as the basic concepts of trading and battling Pokémon. In Japan, the first generation included Pokémon Red, Green, and later Blue (with changes to the artwork and dungeon layout), while other regions started with Red and Blue (both featuring the updated elements), but never got a Green.

This generation was completed by the game Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, loosely based on the anime, in which the player started with a Pikachu who refused to go into its Poké Ball and instead followed the player’s character around. By turning around to face the Pikachu, players could get an approximate notion of how much their Pikachu “liked” them. This and other elements of Pokémon Yellow were similar to the anime. It also altered the progress of the game to more accurately reflect trainers and Pokémon seen in the anime, including the addition of the well-known members of Team Rocket to the storyline.

These versions of the games revolved around the Kanto region, though it was not known as such until the second generation. This generation also introduced the idea of a rival trainer whom the player faced a number of times, as well as a team of evil Pokémon trainers.

These games were compatible with the N64 game Pokémon Stadium and its sequel, Pokémon Stadium 2. Remakes of the first two games, called Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen, were released in the third “Advance” generation.

Second generation

Beginning with Pokémon Gold and Silver, this second generation introduced the next one hundred Pokémon and the new region of Johto. Innovations included use of the Game Boy Color’s IR port for receiving a “Mystery Gift” item, a day and night system (see below), and the concept of plants which actively grew and bore Berries (items with special healing properties) and Apricorns (for creating custom Poké Balls - items used to capture and store Pokémon). In these games, the protagonist could also customise his bedroom and breed Pokémon. Breeding is the only way to obtain baby Pokémon (a new class of Pokémon). Also, two new types of Pokémon, the Steel and Dark types were introduced. Even the Pokémon themselves had some different properties, most notably being assigned genders. Previously, the only Pokémon to be specifically gendered was Nidoran, which has unusually high level of dimorphism. Another notable, though minor change, is that NPCs were given names in addition to their basic title.

The games also featured a new tool, the Pokégear, a device which served as a mobile phone, a radio, a map and a watch. The mobile phone function was used to communicate with in-game NPCs for conversation or a potential battle. The radio station chosen would influence the rate at which wild Pokémon could be found. There was also one station announcing which Pokémon could be found and where. The watch included the time and day of the week and the protagonist’s mother can change it from Standard (Summer) Time to Daylight Savings Time (and visa versa). Knowing the time was important because different Pokémon appeared or evolved at different times of day, and some events revolved around the time and the day of the week. The sun would shine from 4 a.m. until 6 p.m., and the rest of the time it would be night.

This generation of the games was completed by Pokémon Crystal, which was most notably the only GBC-exclusive Pokémon RPG and the first which allowed the player to choose the protagonist’s gender. It was also the first to feature Pokémon animations (the Pokemon would do its animation when encountered or sent out) and on-screen text to announce when the protagonist entered a new location. Crystal version also featured a slight alteration of the encounter with the three Legendary Pokémon, in which the player would eventually encounter Suicune and be able to catch it. However, the other two still had to be found in the normal way (random wild encounters).

These games were compatible with Pokémon Stadium 2.

Third generation

Starting over by hearkening back to Red and Blue, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire added another 135 Pokémon from the Hoenn region, as well as Pokémon natures (25 distinct Pokémon personality types), 76 Pokémon abilities (always-on special innate abilities), Pokéblocks and Pokémon Contests, and two-on-two Pokémon battles. However, this generation saw the loss of the overt night and day system and the calendar, although the time mechanic did exist to the extent that a clock appeared and that certain Pokémon would only evolve into certain Pokémon at specific times of the day or night. These versions also introduced the ability to grow berries in certain places, each which had set lengths of time for their flowering, and the ability to make “Secret Bases” in trees or caves in which dolls, tables, chairs, plants, and other objects could be placed.

These new Pokémon have been the subject of criticization, due to the fact that many are too similar to earlier creatures (ex. the Beautifly and Dustox family, Skitty and Delcatty, Seviper, Corphish and Crawdaunt) or are composed of Pokémon who do not resemble "animals" as others do (Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, Mawile, etc.)

The third game in this series was Pokémon Emerald, which updated the PokéNAV’s Trainers Eyes feature for a return to the mobile phone system of the previous generation (but modified, allowing players to contact Pokémon Gym Leaders for rematches, but no longer allowing them to remove NPC trainers). Emerald version also saw a return of the Pokémon battle dance when encountering an enemy Pokémon. These 3 versions all appeared on the Game Boy Advance.

This generation was rounded out on handhelds by Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen for the GBA, enhanced remakes of the first two Pokémon games, including a playable female character (based on concept art for a playable female the original designers considered but were unable to implement), new items and regions, move tutors, and all the features of the 2nd and 3rd generations, excluding the day/night system and (except in Japan) e-reader compatibility. FireRed and LeafGreen also shipped with the GBA wireless adapter for wireless battles and trading.

All five GBA games are compatible with the storage program Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire for Nintendo GameCube, and also with Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. The first Pokémon RPGs for home consoles, these titles introduced the desert country of Orre, as well as corrupted shadow Pokémon, and “Snagging”, the ability to steal/rescue them from their trainers and eventually “purify” them.

Unlike games in the second generation, third-generation games cannot trade with previous games in the series, due to hardware limitations. This initially resulted in many Pokémon becoming unavailable, a situation rectified by the release of Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and Pokémon Emerald. Pokémon such as Celebi and Mew, only obtained from Nintendo directly, had to be handed out again as well.

Fourth generation

Slated to be introduced in Pokémon Ranger: The Road to Diamond and Pearl for the Nintendo DS. Recently announced for the US was Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, which was currently out for the DS in Japan since last fall. A handful of new Pokémon from this generation have made cameo appearances in the seventh and eighth Pokémon movies (Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys and Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, respectively), as well as Pokémon XD and Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon Blue & Red. Recently, four additional new Pokémon (which will make appearances in the ninth movie, Pokémon Ranger and the Prince of the Sea: Manaphy) have been revealed by CoroCoro magazine and the Official Movie Website.

Video games

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A screenshot from one of the first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red. The player’s Charmander battles a Squirtle.

Main article: Pokémon (video games)

The original Pokémon games were Japanese RPGs with an element of strategy, and were created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy. These role-playing games (and their sequels, remakes and English language translations) are still considered the “main” Pokémon games, and the games which most fans of the series are referring to when they use the term “Pokémon games”.

These games have sold over 100 million copies to date. Accumulative sold units (including home console versions) reach 143 million copies. This makes it the second biggest-selling games franchise ever (after Nintendo’s Mario series).

The first games in the series were Pokémon Red and Blue' (Red and Green in Japan, followed by a Blue, and a special edition Yellow version). 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 at least one member of all the different species of Pokémon (151, though the 151st could only be caught in-game in the Japanese version), and to do so, players had to trade for Pokémon not available in the version they had. While battling monsters is nothing new to RPGs, many players found themselves nearly addicted to finding, fighting, and capturing every Pokémon in the game. Another, perhaps easier, goal was to finish the game’s storyline by becoming the Pokémon League Champion. This was done by collecting eight Gym Badges by beating the eight Gym Leaders and then defeating the Elite Four, plus the current League Champion.

Each generation of Pokémon games so far has followed a pattern of two complementing versions followed later by at least one other version with some extras. Pokémon Red and Blue were followed by Pokémon Yellow (in Japan, Red and Green were followed by Blue which was subsequently followed by Yellow). Gold and Silver were followed by the exclusively Game Boy Color version, Crystal. The Game Boy Advance first saw the release of Ruby and Sapphire. The most recent full fledged game has been FireRed and LeafGreen which are remakes of Red and Blue. A third version of Ruby and Sapphire, called Pokémon Emerald, was released on May 1, 2005.

The series has also diversified into various spin-offs, such as pinball games, virtual pets, simulated photography, and racing. A handful of these spinoffs are remade in subsequent “generations”; for example, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire is very similar to Pokémon Pinball but with newer Pokémon, and Pokémon Stadium 2 is largely identical to Pokémon Stadium but for the compatibility with Pokémon Gold and Silver.

The most recent game to be released was Pokémon Trozei for the Nintendo DS. It came out on March 6, 2006. Currently in development are Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, also for Nintendo DS, and 3 games are out in Japan and are awaiting international release.

Appearances in Super Smash Bros.

Two of the most popular Pokémon, Pikachu and Jigglypuff, were picked to appear as two of the 12 characters in Nintendo’s beat-’em-up game Super Smash Bros., which was released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64. Pikachu appeared as an initially available character while Jigglypuff was an unlockable one. The pair returned in the 2001 GameCube sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee. They kept their positions, Pikachu was still an initial character while Jigglypuff was still an unlockable character, but two new Pokémon also appeared, joining Jigglypuff as unlockable characters: Mewtwo and Pichu.

In both games, many different Pokémon can be used in a match by throwing the Pokéball item. A randomly-chosen Pokémon is released from the Pokéball, using one of its attacks to affect other players.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the player can collect many different trophies of a variety of characters from numerous Nintendo games, including several Pokémon characters.

Nintendo has also announced that a version of Super Smash Bros. will appear on their forthcoming Wii console, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Though only Pikachu has been explicitly confirmed, it is likely several Pokémon characters will be featured in the game (considering the abundance of Pokémon references in the first two games in the series).

Pokémon on the Wii

Nintendo produced a demo for Wii (exclusively for gaming news outlets such as GameSpot and IGN) known as “Big Pokémon Hunter”, wherein the goal was to zoom with the controller and find different Pokémon in a Where’s Waldo?-esque scenario. The review of this demo is currently available at among many other sites. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata confirmed, on June 7, that the Wii installment in the Pokemon franchise will be sub-titled Pokemon Battle Revolution. This game will feature online chat provided by the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Expect it to debut a few months after the release of DS installments, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.

Anime series

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The main characters of the Advanced Generation anime. Humans from left to right: Brock, Ash, May and Max. Pokémon from left to right: Mudkip, Pikachu, Treecko and Torchic.

Main article: Pokémon (anime)

The Pokémon anime series and films are a set of adventures separate from most other versions of Pokémon, featuring Ash Ketchum as the main character, and following his quest to become a Pokémon Master – though what constitutes a Master is somewhat ambiguous. He and his companions travel around the Pokémon world battling other Pokémon trainers.

Original Series

The first, and the most familiar, is Pocket Monsters or simply Pokémon (often referred to as Pokémon: Gotta Catch Em All to distinguish it from the later series), which details the adventures of Ash Ketchum as he travels through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto on a quest to become the greatest Pokémon Master of all time. This series is based on the first and second generation games. Accompanying Ash on his journeys were Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader; Misty, the youngest of the Gym Leaders sisters from Cerulean City; and later on, Tracey Sketchit, an artist and “Pokémon watcher” who accompanied them in the Orange Islands in the second saga. In the original series Ash’s main rival was another trainer from Pallet Town, Gary Oak. Gary (whose grandfather was none other than Professor Oak, the man in charge of giving new trainers their first Pokémon) was well known and accompanied by a squad of cheerleaders. The names of Ash and Gary were derived from the characters’ Japanese names, Satoshi and Shigeru. These names, in turn, were taken from the two people who produced the franchise - Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri and gaming legend Shigeru Miyamoto, who helped Tajiri to launch the series.

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Pikachu, numbered 25 in the Pokédex, is probably the best-known Pokémon species and has appeared in all Pokémon games, movies and episodes (excluding Pokémon Chronicles).

“Advanced Generation”

The saga continues into Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation (in Japan) where Ash and company travel to Hoenn, a southern region in the Pokémon World. Ash catches a Snorunt, a Treecko, and a Taillow, all of which evolve: Snorunt into Glalie, Treecko into Grovyle, and Taillow into Swellow. Ash also captures a Corphish and a Torkoal. Ash takes on the role of a teacher and mentor for a novice Pokémon trainer in this series named May. Her brother Max accompanies them, and though he isn’t a trainer, he knows massive amounts of handy information. Brock (from the original series) soon catches up with Ash, but Misty has returned to Cerulean City to tend to her duties as a gym leader. This series is based on the third generation games.

Afterward, Ash returns to his home region of Kanto and visits the Battle Frontier while May competes in Kanto Contests. Misty joins them for a part of the journey, on the way to Cerulean City. This part of the series is loosely based upon Pokémon FireRed LeafGreen and Emerald.

Spin-off series

A spin-off series, entitled Shu-kan Pokémon Ho-so-kyoku (also referred to as Pokémon Hoso) 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. The English adaptation of this series, Pokémon Chronicles, combines the episodes from this series as well as various other made-for-TV specials (originally unrelated to Housoukyoku) that have not previously been released in English. In the United States, on June 2006 Toonami will start showing episodes of Pokémon Chronicles.

There was also a television program in Japan titled Pokémon Sunday, a live action Pokémon-themed variety show hosted by the Pokémon Research Team.

English language adaptations

In the English language release, the original series was split into four separate series spanning five seasons while Advanced Generation was split into separate series. Two series from Advanced Generation have been aired, with the third series currently airing in the United States and elsewhere.

The English adaptation can be seen on Kids' WB and Cartoon Network in the United States. In other countries the English language adaptations air on the following channels:

• Cartoon Network in the Philippines
• YTV in Canada
• Cartoon Network and Canal 5 in México
• Toonami, Cartoon Network, Sky One and Sky Two in the United Kingdom
• RTÉ Two in Ireland
• RTL 2 in Germany
• Jetix in the Netherlands
• TF1 and Jetix in France
• Kids Central in Singapore
• SIC in Portugal
• Channel Ten’s Toasted TV and Cartoon Network/Toonami in Australia
• TV4 and Jetix in Sweden

Housoukyoku originally aired on TV Tokyo but has since ended its run. Whilst Chronicles can currently be seen on YTV in Canada and in the United Kingdom on Toonami, and as of June 3 on the United States version of Cartoon Network. Pokémon Sunday can only be seen on TV Tokyo, and there are no plans to adapt it for the Western market.

Trading Card Game

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A typical Pokémon Trading Card Game card. (Dragonite) shown.)

Main article: Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game based on Pokémon, first introduced to North America in 1999, and in Japan at an earlier date. Initially, 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 Advance video games, Nintendo took back the card game from Wizards of the Coast and started publishing the cards themselves. The Expedition expansion introduced the Pokémon-e Trading Card Game, the cards in which (for the most part) were compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader. Nintendo discontinued its production of e-Reader compatible cards with the release of EX FireRed & LeafGreen.

In 1998, Nintendo released a Game Boy Color version of the trading card game in Japan. It was also released in the US and Europe in 2000. This game included digital versions cards from the original set of cards and the first two expansion (Jungle and Fossil), but also included several cards exclusive to the game. A sequel to this game exists, but was not released outside of Japan.

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

• The Electric Tale of Pikachu (a.k.a Dengeki Pikachu), a shōnen manga created by Toshihiro Ono. It was divided into four tankōbon, each given a separate title in the North American and English Singapore versions: The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pikachu Shocks Back, Electric Pikachu Boogaloo, and Surf’s Up, Pikachu. The series is based loosely on the 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 Monsters (not released by Viz)
• Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker (not released by Viz)
• Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (not released by Viz)
• Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (The third movie-to-comic adaptation.)

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 Asada Miho
• Poketto Monsutaa Chamo Chamo Puritei by Yumi Tsukirino, who also made Magical Pokémon Journey.
• Pokémon Card Master
• Pocket Monsters Emerald Challenge!! Battle Frontier by Ihara Shigekatsu
• Pokémon Zensho by Satomi Nakamura

Pokémon Live

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The assembled cast of Pokémon Live!, in costume.

Main article: Pokémon Live!

A live action show called Pokémon Live! toured the United States in late 2000. It was based on the popular Pokémon anime, but had some continuity errors relating to it. In late 2002, it was scheduled to tour Europe, but was cancelled for unknown reasons (probably due to Europes interest being washed down the drain) .

Cultural influence

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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has used a 65-foot long, 30-foot wide, 30.8-foot tall Pikachu balloon since 2001 as shown in this test in Times Square on May 22, 2006. (AP Photo)

Pokémon, being a popular franchise, has undoubtedly left its mark on pop-culture. The Pokémon characters themselves have become pop-culture icons; examples include the Pikachu balloon at a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, thousands of merchandise items, a theme park in Nagoya, Japan in 2005 and Taipei in 2005. Pokémon also appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 1999. The Comedy Central show Drawn Together has a character named Ling-Ling which is a direct parody of Pikachu. Several other shows such as The Simpsons and South Park have made references to Pokémon (among other anime series).

Controversy and criticism

See also Jynx (Pokémon), Kadabra, Houndoom and Murkrow for specific controversial Pokémon designs, and Banned episodes of Pokémon for controversies related to specific episodes.

As with many pop culture icons, Pokémon has had its fair share of controversy and criticism.

Religion

Christianity

Some 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. The claimed parallels between Pokémon and Satanism include:

• Pokémon parallel demons. They are captured and must be invoked to perform tasks.
• Magical 'talismans' (gym badges) are necessary to control many of them.
• 'Magical' stones are used to evolve certain Pokémon.
• Pokémon 'evolve'. Evolution precludes literal creationism, therefore Pokémon denies some forms of Biblical interpretation.
• Many Pokémon have paranormal or psychic powers. These powers are not derived from God and therefore, according to some Christian doctrine, must stem from Satan.
• Many Pokémon embody or practice Asian spiritual and mystical concepts. For example, some practice martial arts, which some Christian groups denounce as gateway to pagan religions. The game world also incorporates Asian traditions about elemental forces.
• Some Pokémon (such as Houndoom and Murkrow) resemble witches or demons.

Also, when the main theme song for the television show is sung in English, the lyrics “gotta catch ’em all” are alleged to say “I love Satan” or “oh Satan” when played backwards, which is known as “backmasking”. This has left some Christians and Christian organizations believing that Pokémon subliminally encourages Satanism. However, backmasking in general is highly controversial and debatable, leaving room for much skepticism.

Still, most people (including many Asian Christian congregations) dismiss these claims to be nonsense, and attribute many of the alleged protests to urban legend. The surprisingly small amount of original protests (as opposed to reports of protests) seem to reinforce this belief. It would be incorrect to state that the Christian religious community is of a single mind in this matter, since most mainstream sects of Christianity are utterly indifferent to Pokémon.

The alleged outcry was enough to move the Holy See to comment, in an official statement on April 21 2000:

The Vatican has announced that the trading-card and computer-game versions of Pokémon are “full of inventive imagination,” have no “harmful moral side effects” and celebrate “ties of intense friendship.” Whether that extends to the TV show, His Holiness didn’t say. The New York Post, quoting a Thursday story in The Times of London, says The Vatican made its announcement on its satellite TV station, Sat2000, run by the Italian Bishops’ Conference.-from the New York Times

There are also allegations against “Pokémon” citing liberal views on morality, particularly among Christians. These include the immodest dress of some of the female characters in the show, the use of the phrase “kick your ass” (in actuality, “kick your Grass”, referring to a type of Pokémon) in the lyrics of a song (What Kind of Pokémon Are You?) in the show, though the phrase was later removed and replaced with different lyrics, and a certain character (James), wearing women’s clothes in several episodes of the show, giving some the impression that he is a transvestite.

• A private interview with Nintendo revealed that James must sometimes wear a ‘costume’ in order for a plan to catch Pikachu to work, or to give Ash or his friends something to make sure they win something.
• Normally, when James dresses up as a woman for these ploys, his female partner Jessie also dresses up as a man, to further confuse their identities. (Ash generally fails to see through their disguises anyway, but the cross-dressing makes it that much more difficult). Such cross-dressing for both characters can also be seen in Pokémon Puzzle League, in the Spa Service mode. It is, however, notable that James’s voice in the English dub of the anime has gotten more effeminate as the series has gone on. However, this is more likely due to a change in voice actors.

Judaism

Pokémon has been criticised by some members of the Jewish community for its use of the swastika, the most widely known symbol of Nazism, which they hold is inappropriate for children’s toys. Nintendo says that this is a matter of cultural misunderstanding, as the swastika and a similar symbol, the manji have been used in East Asian cultures as a symbol for “good fortune” by the Hinduism religion for thousands of years. Even today in Japan, the swastika is not necessarily associated with Nazism, and most maps not only in Japan but also in Korea and Taiwan use little clockwise upright swastikas, manji, to indicate the location of Buddhist temples. Moreover, Buddhist and folklore artifacts frequently bear swastika ornaments; a tiling of interwoven tilted swastikas is commonly seen in the Seoul subway system.

The manji was shown only on a Japanese version card and was excluded from the North American release. However, these Jewish groups attacked the Japanese version distributed in the U.S. by unauthorized import, even though the manji symbol is reversed (i.e., clockwise rather than counter-clockwise) in relation to the swastika or Hakenkreuz used by the Nazi party. As a result of this controversy Nintendo stopped using this symbol even in the Japanese version. This raised a public backlash in Japan for being intolerant towards the symbols of the Buddhist religion for the sake of avoiding controversy.

Islam

Pokémon has only belatedly made its way to the Islamic world, at this point, in Saudi Arabia. The driving point behind this factor is the belief that the trading card game promotes gambling with cards. In most moderate Islamic countries, such as Turkey and Pakistan, it poses no threat. In Iran, for example, the game is relatively popular, and the Pokémon logo and characters are widely recognizable in much of the Muslim world.

A fatwa, or religious edict, issued by a Saudi sheik urges all Muslims to beware of the game, noting that most of the cards bear "six-pointed stars, a symbol of international Zionism and the state of Israel". . This refers to the Colorless energy symbol, which has nothing to do with Judaism.

Health

Main article: Banned episodes of Pokémon: Electric Soldier Porygon

On December 16, 1997, 685 Japanese children were admitted to hospital with convulsive epileptic seizures. It was determined that the seizures were caused by watching an episode of Pokémon, Dennou Senshi Porygon, or “Electric Soldier Porygon”. In this particular episode, there were bright explosions with rapidly-alternating blue and red color patterns. It was determined in subsequent research that these strobing light effects cause some individuals to have epileptic seizures, even if they haven’t had any previous history of epilepsy. As a consequence, many video game makers (including Nintendo) added warning labels to their video game products (or made pre-existing labels more prominent), warning that exposure to video games may trigger seizures in individuals vulnerable to photosensitive epilepsy

Animal cruelty

Some have compared the primary mechanism of Pokémon to the generally-outlawed practice of cockfighting. Seen from this point of view, the game consists primarily of Pokémon trainers capturing and bartering in wild animals, coercing them to fight one another. It also sees various performance-enhancing drugs to give them an edge in the fight. Some people believe that this may encourage children towards acts of animal cruelty and illegal gambling.

However, most fans view Pokémon battling as a friendly competition between two teams of Pokémon and their trainers. Seen in this light, Pokémon are not being coerced to battle by their trainers. There are references to some Pokémon being territorial (e.g. Pidgeotto), but it is vastly different to the aggressively territorial nature of roosters, who will maim the 'enemy' rooster until it or the other dies. Furthermore; trainers do not relish the idea of allowing two animals (or in this case Pokémon) to fight to the death, while they merely view from the edge of the ‘ring’. In both the games and the television show, the audience is taught that fighting is not necessarily a means to an end.

Americanization

ANA Boeing 747-400 (JA8962), in Pokémon special colors. Pictured on the plane are Clefairy, Pikachu, and Togepi. (Mewtwo and Snorlax appear on the tail, but are obscured in this picture.)

Both critics and fans of the Pokémon franchise have criticised the apparent Americanization of the franchise, claiming that American companies use Pokémon as a tool to exploit children of their (parents’) money. Some criticisms include:

• The apparent watering-down of the Pokémon anime by 4Kids Entertainment—the controversial company has faced criticism for apparently Americanizing its translated Japanese anime programs. Several episodes were edited or removed from the American run completely for potential objectional content.

See also

Pokémon general

• List of Pokémon characters
• List of Pokémon items
• Pokémon regions
• Poké Ball
• Pokédex

Pokémon (creatures)

• List of Pokémon
• Pokémon types
• Pokémon evolution

Games

• List of Pokémon video games
• Pokémon (card game)

Television and books

• Pokémon (anime)
• List of Pokémon episodes
• Banned episodes of Pokémon
• Pokémon Chronicles
• Pokémon Adventures

Miscellanea

• Cultural references in Pokémon
• List of Pokémon References or Spoofs
• Allegations of Satanism in popular culture
• mon (monster)
• Pokémon NetBattle

References

Books

• Tobin, Joseph, ed. Pikachu’s Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon. Duke University Press., February, 2004. ISBN 0822332876.

References

External links

Official websites

• Pokémon Japan
• Pokémon TCG Game
• Pokémon.com
• Pokémon Games
• Pokémon UK
• Pokémon PokéPark, to be in Taipei, Taiwan in 2006.
• [1]

Books

• Pikachu’s Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon Tobin, Joseph, ed.