Nerd Tutorial Podcast: Episode 71: Pokémon Tutorial

Topic: Pokémon Tutorial

Today, we're starting the long haul of going through Pokémon. We're going to discuss mostly the games today and the world of Pokémon, because if we went through the myriad of spinoffs, this would become an even longer episode. We go over the basics, and try to discuss some of what Pokémon represents as a whole.

History

Created by Satoshi Tajiri, the game initially started based off his love of collecting insects as a child. As the home he lived in started to become more urbanized, he noticed bugs disappearing and children staying in the house more often. He wanted to create a game that would allow people to catch creatures similar to insects, which he would call Pokémon.

Prior to Tajiri being known for Pokémon, he developed the self-published magazine, Game Freak, which discussed Video Game, and eventually began reviewing them, before becoming a video game development company.

The initial Pokémon game was Pocket Monsters Red & Green in 1996, which was quite popular for the aging Nintendo GameBoy. It went on to re-invigorate the series, and sparked its second coming. A further version known as Pocket Monster Blue updated the graphics and went on to add some more Pokémon and updated the graphics for many of their Pokémon as well. This Blue version would be the basis for the Red and Blue Pokémon titles we saw in the west and other portions of the world. The initial idea for having two games was that they could divide some of the monsters between the two different systems, allowing for more of a reason to trade between other players, which was a focus of the game.

About a year later, the Pokémon Anime would start in Japan, which has been ongoing since 1998 until today, and included all of the previous game series. The series follow Satoshi, or Ash, with his Pikachu through various Pokémon regions and areas, interacting with new Pokémon, gyms, and trying to become a Pokémon master. Pikachu was originally the second option for a Mascot Character, as the original Jigglypuff was initially considered, but turned down after lukewarm reception.

GameFreak and Nintendo would continue to release new games, adding to the expanding roster of Pokémon with each cycle, or Generations. There are too many spins off to name; the series is likely one of the best selling franchises behind Mario, and probably more common than Mario as well.

Premise

The world is very similar to ours, save for more wild forests and areas that have been unaltered or inhabited by humans. Typical animals do not exist, but instead replaced with Pokémon, many of which resemble animals of our own species, as well as various planets, materials, and forms. Most Pokémon are animals of some king, but some are plant based, take the shape of rock golems, or even pool of slime. There are even ghost Pokémon.

Pokémon carry an affinity, or known as a type, which signifies what abilities they have available to them. Some Pokémon may use abilities that are not associated with their type, and may even have more than one type associated with them. Pokémon all have special abilities, from head-butting and clawing, to even producing fire, water, electricity, and even psychic abilities, and more. These abilities form the basis of Pokémon battles and fighting.

Pokémon come in all shapes and forms, and most can evolve after a period of time, or training. Evolved Pokémon follow a simple track and always evolve in to the next line of Pokémon in their species, save for an Eevee, which can evolve in various other Pokémon in its species family. Evolved Pokémon are almost always more powerful than non-evolved Pokémon.

Pokémon live in the wild, but can also live with humans much in the same way you would pets. Depending on the type of Pokémon, they might life in forests, caves, near water, or even in snow. Pokémon typically reside in certain regions of the world, and even then only in certain areas, though some Pokémon are more common than others in some regions. If a Pokémon lives with humans, it’s not uncommon for them to be treated like members of the family. It’s not uncommon for Pokémon to develop long lasting relationship with their human owners, or trainers, often coming to their aid or defense if anything is to arise. Most humans have at least one Pokémon, if not more, of their own; though for younger generations, they may have a family Pokémon, as adults are less likely to have huge Pokémon collections.

If living with a human, Pokémon typically reside within a Pokeball, a ball that electronically houses the Pokémon within a ball roughly the size of a softball. The size of the Pokémon doesn’t matter, as it is digitized and placed within the pokeball. No science has really gone on to explain the mechanics or sciences behind it. Pokémon generally get caught in a pokeball once they have been weakened in a battle, usually by throwing the ball and having it tap the pokeball. Once a Pokémon is in a pokeball, they are forever tied to that pokeball and can be recalled back into the ball if they are in a weakened state.

Most people who go on to raise and train Pokémon are known as Pokémon Trainers. Pokémon Trainer is a person that trains Pokémon to become stronger or better over time, with the usual intention of using the Pokémon to perform battles with. Pokémon Battles are typically 1 on 1, with each trainer being able to use up to six Pokémon in total. Pokémon battles are typically affairs to see who is the better training, but also a way of resolving most major disagreements. Anyone and everyone can be a trainer, even those with jobs already, and it is not uncommon for a battle to break out at a moment’s notice, though most do not do so indoors, but tend to do it outside, or in specialized locations or Arenas. If a Pokémon take enough damage, they will faint and return to their pokeball until they can be healed or revived.

The goal of most Pokémon Trainers is to become Pokémon Masters, competing in tournaments and competitions to crown truly skillful and great trainers. In order to be able to compete in these tournaments and competitions, Trainers must compete in Gym Battles in the local area, and defeat the Gym Leader to receive a Badge that signifies the Trainer’s skill. These badges are often requirements four tournaments, competitions, or matches, and trainers without a significant number, or certain badges, will not be allowed to compete.

Beyond battle competitions, there are Pokémon Coordinators, a type of trainer that specializes in showing Pokémon Skills and talents, along with clothing, in order to prove their worth. Rather than fighting, a Pokémon may use their abilities to create shows or tricks that can be judged by judges. Similar to Gym Battles, most major towns have some sort of competition that can be entered throughout the year.

At the age of 10, young children can start their adventure to become a Pokémon Trainer. They are often gifted, or earn, a Pokémon, and from there are allowed to leave the house and start their own adventure. A typical trainer will start with some basic necessities, including some pokeballs and medicine for their Pokémon, along with basic camping and survival gear. Pokémon Trainers can make money off of other trainers or collect rare objects in the wild to help them along.

Everyone has access to Pokémon Centers. There are locations that offer to heal and rehabilitate Pokémon if they have been injured, hurt, or incapacitated in a battle. The process is relatively quick, and free of charge to any Pokémon trainers. The Pokémon Centers offer bedrooms and meals for children trailing on their own adventure, along with helpful advice and information about the area. They are found in every town, village, and city, and even long specialized routes or locations.

While most people are good natured to their Pokémon, not everyone is, and some will use their Pokémon for evil or malicious intentions. There are some leagues of villains that band together, like Team Rocket, which attempt to steal and kidnap Pokémon from their owners in order to assist with world domination or some other evil plot. They are often the antagonist of games and other media.

Much like bad people, there are good people, who try to study Pokémon throughout the world. To aid young adventures, these professors of Pokémon offer a Pokedex, which keeps track of all known Pokémon in the region and other locations, and offers information, pictures, and collecting of Pokémon. The intent is for trainers to fill up their Pokedex, and return the information to the professor for further analysis and study, leading to their symbiotic nature.

Games - Mainline

Generation 1 (1996 – 1999)

Console: GameBoy
JP: Pokémon Green & Red, Blue, Yellow
US: Pokémon Red & Blue, Yellow
Total Pokémon: 151
Region: Kanto
These initial games were the basis for the Franchise, which hasn’t deviated much from the initial formula. Released in Japan in 1996, and the US 1998, the series has one major spinoff in Pokémon Yellow, an enhanced version with updated sprites for the Pokémon, minor game play tweaks, and the ability to have Pikachu follow you from the start. Pokémon Yellow is meant to mirror the anime, which mirrors the original game as a whole. The original game took place in the Kanto region, similar to the real life Kanto region of Japan, which is the home of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.

Generation 2 (1999 – 2002)

Console: Gameboy Color
Pokémon Gold & Silver, Crystal
Total Pokémon: 251
Region: Johto
This generation was the first major advance, debuting on the gameboy color, but if you still had the older hardware, would still work on a regular Gameboy. He series added a day and night system, as well as an in-game clock, with some Pokémon only appear at certain times of the day. The game also introduced an additional 100 Pokémon, and evolutions for other Pokémon that didn’t exist before. Players upon finishing the Johto region could travel back to the Kanto region and continue the adventure there. Players who also had the older games could trade Pokémon from their older version to the new version, allowing for a full complete pokedex. You can not trade from a newer version to an older version however, as the older Blue & Red games would have the newer Pokémon added. Taking place in the Johto region, which mirror modern day Japan’s Kansai region, with places like Osaka and Kyoto included in the area.

Generation 3 (2002 – 2006)

Console: Gameboy Advance
Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed & LeafGreen
Total Pokémon: 386
Region: Hoenn
This was the first generation to offer remakes of older games, with FireRed & LeafGreen faithful remakes of the original Pokémon Red and Green, but using the updated pokedex of 386 Pokémon. These games also offered the first series of 2 on 2 battles, pitting four Pokémon against each other. The series is however not well regarded, as they dropped the day and night cycle due to issues with the battery in the cartridge, as well as limited updating of the series elements, including trying to limit the collectable Pokémon to 202 instead of the full 386. The games take place in Hoenn, an island similar to Japan’s Kyushu Island.

Generation 4 (2006 – 2010)

Console: Nintendo DS
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold & SoulSilver
Total Pokémon: 493
Region: Sinnoh
Introduced on the two screen DS, the games offered an improved Day and Night cycle, found in Generation 2, as well as introducing 3D Graphics to the game in certain areas. Due to the Nintendo DS’s wifi capabilities, it allowed people to also play against other people in local areas virtually, meaning you could be battling or trading with someone on the other side of a building or network. Like the previous generation, the also remade Generation 2’s Gold and Silver games, being relatively faithful adaptations and remakes using newer hardware and technology. This time, the Sinnoh region acts as Japan’s Hokkaidō island, the very north of Japan’s islands.

Generation 5 (2010 – 2013)

Console: Nintendo DS
Pokémon Black & White, Black 2 & White 2
Total Pokémon: 649
Region: Unova
Unlike other generations, 5^th generation is unique for a couple of reasons. Firstly, at the time, it’s offered the most new Pokémon at 156, but none of the Pokémon were evolutions for previous Pokémon in other generations, meaning only New Pokémon. It also was the first generation to not remake older games, which would have been Ruby & Sapphire by normal conventions. It’s also the only series to have direct spin offs in the form of new games; these games continued the story from the first game, but played as though it was you were a new trainer coming in to the continuing story. It is also unique in not offering a third, director’s-cut version of the game, like with Yellow, Crystal, Emerald or Platinum. It is also unique in that the setting is meant to be New York City and not a part of Japan as previous versions had been.

Generation 6 (2013 – 2016)

Console: Nintendo 3DS
Pokémon X & Y, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Total Pokémon: 721
Region: Kalos
6^th generation is notable for introducing fully 3d Pokémon, with all Pokémon fully rendered in 3d. It also introduced Mega Evolutions, a rare additional evolution that is limited but extremely powerful form for some Pokémon. Introduced was the Pokémon Bank as well, which could hold all your Pokémon online for an additional fee, and upload them in to other games without link cables or wifi access locally. The 6^th generation returned with remakes of older titles, with Ruby and Sapphire getting the remake treatment. The Kalos region is heavily influenced by France, but also by the greater Europe as a whole as well.

Generation 7 (2016 - 2019)

Console: Nintendo 3DS & Nintendo Switch
Pokémon Sun & Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, Pokémon Let’s Go!
Total Pokémon: 809
Region: Alola
For the first time in many generations, the ability to trade back and forth with older versions was made available again, with X & Y, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, and Virtual Console remakes of Red, Blue, & Yellow, allowing players to collect all 809 Pokémon. It was also the second time in which new versions of the games were released as direct sequels to the first. A new feature wasn’t necessarily new Pokémon, be regional Pokémon, with some Pokémon switching elements and getting new looks, associated with them, leading to variations on the same Pokémon. Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee were also released for the Switch, which were faithful adaptations of Pokémon Yellow with Pokémon Go style controls. The Alola region is based off Hawaii and it’s islands.

Generation 8 (2019 – Present)

Console: Nintendo Switch
Pokémon Sword and Shield
Total Pokémon: 896
Region: Galar
The first mainline game title for the home Console, Sword and Shield offers a refinement of all the classic systems. Rather than an overhead, or 2d plane, the game is fully 3d and follows players in a similar fashion as they world a 3d game, though areas are still laid out like maps. Pokémon now have a new evolved form, making them huge, and in some cases, new features and forms, but giving them new abilities as well. One major dislike is that while there are a total of 896 Pokémon, only about 400 total Pokémon are available for collection and being added to the pokedex, with many fan favorites being omitted from the final roster. Dubbed Dexit, after Brexit and pokedex, the news was not well received, with Nintendo and Gamefreak stating that they couldn’t support all nearly 900 Pokémon, and realized they would have to limit it at some point, as well as focusing their energy on improving the quality of the remaining Pokémon. Galar is loosely based on Great Britain and the British Isles.

Pokémon London Store