-Pokémon over the years has become one of the most popular and culturally relevant franchises in media. The cultural influence that Pokémon has had on the youth can be seen through various outlets. The media forms that most influence the youth are video games, the animated TV show, merchandise, and even the trading card game. All of these forms have had a lasting cultural impact that can be seen today through the continuation of these media outlets. From handheld games to opening booster packs, Pokémon is a cultural trend among the youth.
The origins of Pokémon trace back to when Satoshi Tajiri (video game designer) was a kid who had a passion for discovering and collecting bugs and insects, this later turned into a concept when Tajiri collaborated with manga artist Ken Sugimori leading to the creation of Pocket Monsters. The first piece of media released was exclusively in Japan with the games Pocket Monsters Red/Green being released in February 1996.[1] The success of these games was significant with the international release happening 2 years later with the launch of Pokémon Red/Blue being released in North America and Australia in 1998. [2] With this international release the franchise was abbreviated from Pocket Monsters to Pokémon. [3]
Anime: The anime for Pokémon originally came out in 1997. The show was produced in Japan by the production studio OLM, The series sets upon Ash Ketchum and Pikachu’s Journey. Similarly, to the games Ash Ketchum's goal is to collect the eight gym badges and move towards becoming the Pokémon Champion by beating the elite four and the already Pokémon Champion.
Pokemon Trading Card GameTrading Card Game: The trading card game came out in 1996 around the same time as the games and gained popularity slowly following up to the early 2000s where it experienced its peaks.
Video Games: The Pokémon Games originated with both Pokémon Red/Green released in Japan in 1996 to then being released in the U.S in 1998. The series expanded with sequels going to different regions, such as Pokémon Gold/Silver to then overtime switching gaming systems with newer titles being released on the Nintendo DS/3DS
Merchandise: The Pokémon franchise produced many accessible sets of merchandise through clothes, toys, and plushies. [4]
Pokémon Type ChartBroad Selection of Pokémon: The player gets to choose which Pokémon they want to use and collect on their team, with games Pokémon Red/Green having 151 Pokémon to choose from, only expanding as time goes on. This includes many different typing's which include: Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, and Dragon. The Pokémon could be one or a combination of 2 of these listed types.
The Enticing Gameplay Loop: Most of the Pokémon games follow a simple yet enjoyable gameplay loop which could be seen as, (Catching Pokémon, Training Pokémon, to then Battling other Trainers) there are variations of this loop depending on the stage of the game you are in, However, this is the most often used gameplay loop for most Pokémon games.
The Fast Expansion And Growth: With the success of the early Pokémon games, more and more came to fruition with more of what enticed fans originally. These include more, typing's, Pokémon, Gym leaders, and new regions to travel and explore.
The Pokémon franchise has had immense cultural influence across generations:
The anime specifically breached out to the west, influencing the audiences and opening them up to Japanese animation. This acted as a bridge for future anime fans worldwide.
The first movie ever released for Pokémon (Pokémon: The First Movie) in 1998 became one of most successful animated films at the time with it becoming the highest grossing animated film in the U.S at the time. In current times, the movie is ranked as rank 20 for the highest grossing films based on video games. [5]
