About Pokémon

Pokémon ( poh-keh-mohn, although frequently mispronounced poh-kee-MAN ) is a video game franchise, created by Satoshi Tajiri and published by Nintendo for several of their systems, most importantly the Game Boy. It has been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, and much more - the subject of this fanlisting is the anime and manga series.

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 493 unique species, 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.