Pokémon

Created in 1996 as a game for the Nintendo Game Boy hand-held gaming console, Pokémon (pronounced "POH-kay-mon") soon became a worldwide youth phenomenon. Seen in video games (see entry under 1970s—Sports and Games in volume 4), Saturday morning cartoons (see entry under 1960s—TV and Radio in volume 4), films, books, and thousands of trading cards, Pokémon (short for "pocket monsters") is a unique world, populated by over 150 creatures with magical powers that enable them to transform themselves into stronger and stronger monsters. Children around the globe have been captivated by the world of Pokémon, collecting the pocket monsters and memorizing their names and powers with a skill that often amazes their parents.

It took game designer Satoshi Tajiri (1965–) six years to design his imaginative new game, designed for use on the Nintendo Game Boy. Inspired by the bug collections he made in his youth and the outlandish monsters he had seen in old Japanese horror movies (see entry under 1960s—Film and Theater in volume 4), he created "Poketto Monsuta" (Japanese for "Pocket Monsters"). After its release in Japan in 1996, the new game was an instant hit. Soon after, millions of Japanese children were watching Pokémon cartoons on TV and collecting trading cards and other Pokémon products. The game was introduced in the United States in 1998, followed shortly by the TV series in the same year. Within a month, Pokémon was the most watched children's show in the United States. Since 1999, three Pokémon movies have been released, and dozens of books of Pokémon adventures, making Pokémon a multibillion-dollar business.

In the game and in the cartoon show, the goal is basically the same: players must capture and befriend small, fantastically shaped creatures with names like Pikachu, Squirtle, and Charmander. Once captured, monster trainers must train their Pokémon for battle with the Pokémon of other trainers. Once trained, Pokémon transform themselves into different, but related creatures.


For example, Charmander transforms first into Charmeleon, then into Charizard.

Although many adults appreciate the creativity and imagination of the Pokémon world, others worry that the fad encourages children to spend too much time and money collecting the hundreds of different Pokémon products. Some even fear that Pokémon is dangerous to children. In Turkey, several children were injured jumping from roofs like the flying monsters they saw on television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3). In Japan, in 1997, some doctors claimed that a rapidly blinking light on the Pokémon cartoon made some children sick.

—Tina Gianoulis

For More Information

The Big Book of Pokémon: The Complete Player and Collector's Guide to Every Card and Character. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2000.

Deacon, James, and Susan McClelland. "The Craze That Ate Your Kids." Maclean's (November 8, 1999): pp. 74–79.

"Pokémon." YesterdayLand.http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/toys/ty1387.php (accessed April 2, 2002).

Pokémon.com: The Official Pokémon Web Site.http://www.pokemon.com (accessed April 2, 2002).

Radford, Benjamin. "The Pokémon Panic of 1997." Skeptical Inquirer (Vol. 25, iss. 3, May 2001): pp. 26–30.