Franchise description:
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==Franchise description==
==Franchise description==
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''Pokémon'' was introduced in Japan
by Nintendo
in February 1996 as "Pocket Monsters", a
pair
of
interlinkable
Game Boy
RPGs. It
was not
expected
to be a large success, but
it took
Japan by storm
. Once ported to American audiences
and
worldwide later on, it
quickly established
itself
as a blockbuster, multi-billion dollar franchise. The main
RPG
series paved the way for a merchandising empire, including an extensive anime continuity, several series of manga, a bestselling trading card game, and video games touching upon many other genres. ''Pokémon'' has become the second biggest-selling game-based media franchise of all time, second only to Nintendo's ''[[Mario (universe)|Mario]]'' franchise; as of August, 2010, cumulative sold units (including home console versions) have reached 207 million copies.<ref>http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-13/tech/pokemon.championship_1_game-franchise-nintendo-ds-card-games?_s=PM:TECH</ref>
+
''Pokémon'' was introduced in Japan in February 1996
by Nintendo and the recently-founded second-party game developer, Game Freak,
as "
''
Pocket Monsters
''
", a
Game Boy JRPG that came in slightly-modified ''Red and Green'' editions that both made then-original use
of
the
Game Boy
's connection cable between separate systems in that, rather than being strictly used for competition, it
was
additionally used for cooperative data transfer between players. Nintendo did
not
expect these games
to be a large success
, even less so in the West than domestically
, but
the games - branded ''Pokémon'' outside of
Japan
- took both sides of the Pacific
by storm and quickly established
the series
as a blockbuster, multi-billion dollar franchise. The main
JRPG
series paved the way for a merchandising empire, including an extensive anime continuity, several series of manga, a bestselling trading card game, and video games touching upon many other genres. ''Pokémon'' has become the second biggest-selling game-based media franchise of all time, second only to Nintendo's ''[[Mario (universe)|Mario]]'' franchise; as of August, 2010, cumulative sold units (including home console versions) have reached 207 million copies.<ref>http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-13/tech/pokemon.championship_1_game-franchise-nintendo-ds-card-games?_s=PM:TECH</ref>
As a direct result, ''Pokémon'' has been a mainstay in the Nintendo-centric crossover fighting games ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' since the series started in 1999.
−
In the various incarnations of the ''Pokémon'' universe, the world of ''Pokémon'' is an Earth-like world inhabited by many species of the eponymous Pokémon creatures which coexist with humans. The Pokémon are colorful, sentient, oftentimes sapient creatures possessing the abilities to perform amazing talents of seemingly every conceivable sort, examples of which are breathing fire, expulsing poisonous smog, summoning rainfall, performing martial arts, using illusion to split up into multiple copies of itself, employing psychokinesis, unleashing paralysis-inducing electricity, etc. Many Pokémon live as wild animals both as predators and prey, while other individual Pokémon are
mythical and
powerful beings
held by
the world's human denizens to
be responsible for the creation of the world
, and others still are man-made.
In
the
anime
, most Pokémon
can only
communicate in
a non-human
language that consists of
syllables of
their own names
, while others speak in roars and grunts
, but some can communicate in
English
through telepathy (e.g. [[Mewtwo]]), and in extremely rare cases a Pokémon can master the ability to speak the physical human tongue (e.g. a particular [[Meowth]])
. However, the sounds that Pokémon make in the main RPG series are more animal-like
. As of the present, there are 649 recognized species of Pokémon (and several of these are known to have multiple, distinctive forms.)
+
In the various incarnations of the ''Pokémon'' universe, the world of ''Pokémon'' is an Earth-like world inhabited by many species of the eponymous Pokémon creatures which coexist with humans. The Pokémon are colorful, sentient, oftentimes sapient creatures possessing the abilities to perform amazing talents of seemingly every conceivable sort, examples of which are breathing fire, expulsing poisonous smog, summoning rainfall, performing martial arts, using illusion to split up into multiple copies of itself, employing psychokinesis, unleashing paralysis-inducing electricity, etc. Many Pokémon live as wild animals both as predators and prey, while other individual Pokémon are
immensely
powerful beings
that
the world's human denizens
superstitiously attach a variety of creation myths
to, and others still are man-made.
Unlike
the
main RPG series itself, where all Pokémon make animal-like grunts and vocalizations
, most Pokémon
in the anime freely
communicate
with each other
in
an exclusive
language that consists
entirely
of
them reciting
their own
specie
names, but some can communicate in
human tongue
through telepathy (e.g. [[Mewtwo]]), and in extremely rare cases a Pokémon can master the ability to speak the physical human tongue (e.g. a particular [[Meowth]]). As of the present
"fifth generation"
, there are 649 recognized species of Pokémon (and several of these are known to have multiple, distinctive forms.)
−
The
concept
of the ''Pokémon''
universe
, in
both games and the general fictional world
,
stems
from the hobbies of insect collecting and cockfighting, the former being a popular pastime which ''Pokémon'' executive director Satoshi Tajiri had enjoyed as a child. In most
instances
of ''Pokémon'', humans of varying interests seek out and capture various and multiple species of Pokémon using specially designed mass-producible tools called [[Poké Ball]]s. In most cases a Pokémon caught from the wild by a human willingly joins up with the human and obeys his or her commands. Some catch and own Pokémon as friendly pets and lifelong companions and do not participate in any competitive activities with them. Others of a less savory nature, such as members of
the
Pokémon crime
syndicate
Team Rocket, capture Pokémon and use them as living tools to advance their evil agendas. Most humans, however, including players of the ''Pokémon'' RPGs,
go
the
way
of
the
Pokémon
trainer
; they catch and collect Pokémon to train them and battle the Pokémon of other trainers in officially-sponsored competitive Pokémon matches.
+
The
concepts
of the ''Pokémon''
setting
, in
whatever incarnation it takes or what kind of media it is depicted in
,
stem
from the hobbies of insect collecting and cockfighting, the former being a popular pastime which ''Pokémon'' executive director Satoshi Tajiri had enjoyed as a child. In most
depictions
of ''Pokémon'', humans of varying interests seek out and capture various and multiple species of Pokémon using specially
-
designed mass-producible tools called [[Poké Ball]]s. In most cases
,
a Pokémon caught from the wild by a human willingly joins up with the human and obeys his or her
spoken
commands. Some catch and own Pokémon as friendly pets and lifelong companions and do not participate in any competitive activities with them. Others of a less savory nature, such as members of Pokémon crime
syndicates such as
Team Rocket, capture Pokémon and use them as living tools to advance their evil agendas. Most humans, however, including players of the ''Pokémon'' RPGs,
take on
the
occupation
of Pokémon
training
; they catch and collect Pokémon to train them and battle the Pokémon of other trainers in officially-sponsored competitive Pokémon matches
. Unlike in cockfighting, there are never any lasting, bloody wounds or deaths incurred by the creatures involved, and seemingly no hard feelings between winners and losers
.
−
The two-stage object of most ''Pokémon'' RPGs is to collect all of the available Pokémon species in the region where that RPG takes place in, and from them train a winning team of powerful Pokémon
fighters
to defeat the
powerful and well
-trained Pokémon teams of that region's strongest trainers
residing
in that region's Pokémon League
. This
elite group of trainers
is always called
that region's Elite Four
,
and
they are headed by
the regional Champion. Pokémon captured from the wild with Poké Balls
gain
experience and learn new
battling
moves by battling many wild Pokémon and challenging other trainer's Pokémon to Pokémon matches. Many species of Pokémon, when they gain enough experience and regardless of whether they are in the wild or under a trainer's ownership, undergo a metamorphosis and Evolve into a similar, but larger and more powerful, species of Pokémon. Many of the 649 species belong to such lineages, and therefore many of the species of Pokémon are
actually
different stages of
growth and development of shared base creature concepts. Therefore, it's also fitting
to
say there are well over 300
"families" of Pokémon.
+
The two-stage object of most ''Pokémon'' RPGs is to collect all of the available Pokémon species in the region where that RPG takes place in, and from them train a winning team of powerful
combat
Pokémon to defeat the
professionally
-trained Pokémon teams of that region's strongest trainers
. The player's quest always takes him or her across the region to battle eight specialists
in
Pokémon training,
that
region's "gym leaders", and once eight commemorative badges have been gathered, the player may then go to the
region's Pokémon League
and battle an
elite group of trainers
-
that region's Elite Four
-
and
then battle
the regional Champion
to take the title. These five trainers, which must be battled one-after-the-other with no rest in between, are almost always the game's equivalent to any other RPG's "final boss" challenge
. Pokémon captured from the wild with Poké Balls
accumulate
experience and learn new
combat
moves by battling many wild Pokémon and challenging other trainer's Pokémon to Pokémon matches
, and whenever a Pokémon falls in battle ("knocked out"), it is easy to quickly and completely restore it to health, free of charge, by visiting one of many Pokémon Centers located throughout a region
. Many species of Pokémon, when they gain enough experience and regardless of whether they are in the wild or under a trainer's ownership, undergo a metamorphosis and
"
Evolve
"
into a similar, but larger and more powerful, species of Pokémon. Many of the 649 species belong to such lineages, and therefore many of the species of Pokémon are
effectively
different stages of
what can be said
to
be several hundred
"families" of Pokémon.
−
The ''Pokémon'' franchise's chronology is divided into "generations", defined by the
original
Pokémon that
appear herein and
the newest pair of handheld ''Pokémon'' RPGs
featuring those Pokémon
.
Every several years
, with the
release
of a new pair of RPGs centered on a new fictional region
, over a
hundred new
Pokémon are added to the existing pool of
Pokémon, along with new characters, moves, and gameplay concepts
. There have been five generations thus far
:
+
The ''Pokémon'' franchise's chronology is divided into "generations",
each of which is
defined by the
newest
Pokémon that
are introduced within
the newest pair of handheld ''Pokémon'' RPGs.
Some generations may have more than one pair of interlinking RPGs
, with the
second set being released later than the first as a sort
of
"semi-sequel" to the base set that began that generation, but a new generation and associated set of new Pokemon are released every several years in
a new pair of RPGs centered on a new fictional region
. There have been five generations that ran their courses and have each introduced at least one
hundred new Pokémon, along with new characters, moves
, mechanics
, and gameplay concepts:
*In the late 1990's, the First Generation begun the franchise with the ''Pokémon Red and Green'' versions in Japan and ''Pokémon Red and Blue'' versions internationally both for the Game Boy, with the first 151 Pokémon species and the first-known region of the Pokémon world, the Kanto region. Only this generation was in effect when ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' was developed and released in 1999, so Pokémon, locations, and properties from the first generation are featured in the game.
*In the late 1990's, the First Generation begun the franchise with the ''Pokémon Red and Green'' versions in Japan and ''Pokémon Red and Blue'' versions internationally both for the Game Boy, with the first 151 Pokémon species and the first-known region of the Pokémon world, the Kanto region. Only this generation was in effect when ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' was developed and released in 1999, so Pokémon, locations, and properties from the first generation are featured in the game.
*In 2000, the Second Generation was heralded by the release of the ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' sequel versions for Game Boy Color, which added 100 new Pokémon to make for a total of 251, along with the new Johto region. In 2001, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' was developed and released during this generation, so the game features content based on both existing generations at the time.
*In 2000, the Second Generation was heralded by the release of the ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' sequel versions for Game Boy Color, which added 100 new Pokémon to make for a total of 251, along with the new Johto region. In 2001, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' was developed and released during this generation, so the game features content based on both existing generations at the time.