Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, a company founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. The franchise was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996, and is centered on fictional creatures called "Pokémon". In Pokémon, humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train Pokémon to battle other Pokémon for sport. All media works within the franchise are set in the Pokémon universe. The English slogan for the franchise is "Gotta Catch ‘Em All!". There are currently 908 Pokémon species.
Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version are 2002 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. They are the first installments in the third generation of the Pokémon video game series, also known as the "advanced generation". After years of Nintendo being the sole publisher of the franchise in all regions, The Pokémon Company co-published the games for the first time since the establishment of the joint-owned company in 1998. They were first released in Japan in late 2002, and internationally in 2003. Pokémon Emerald, an enhanced version, was released two years later in each region. Remakes of the two games, titled Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, were released for the Nintendo 3DS worldwide in November 2014, exactly twelve years to the date of the original Ruby and Sapphire release date, with the exception of Europe, where it released a week later.
Pikachu is a fictional species in the Pokémon media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games Pokémon Red and Green created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which were released outside of Japan in 1998 as Pokémon Red and Blue. Pikachu is a yellow, mouse-like creature with electrical abilities. It is a major character in the Pokémon franchise, serving as its mascot and as a major mascot for Nintendo.
Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version are 1996 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments of the Pokémon video game series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Pocket Monsters: Red and Pocket Monsters: Green, with the special edition Pocket Monsters: Blue being released in Japan later that same year. The games were later released as Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue in North America and Australia in 1998 and Europe in 1999. Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue combined Red/Green/Blue for release outside of Japan.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game, abbreviated to PTCG or Pokémon TCG, is a collectible card game based on the Pokémon franchise. It was first published in October 1996 by Media Factory in Japan. In the US, it was initially published by Wizards of the Coast; Nintendo eventually transferred the rights to The Pokémon Company which has published the game since June 2003. As of March 2021, the game has sold over 34.1 billion cards worldwide.
Pokémon, abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters and currently branded in English as Pokémon the Series, is a Japanese anime television series, part of The Pokémon Company's Pokémon media franchise, which began broadcast in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997.
Play! Pokémon, formerly known as Pokémon Organized Play, is a division of The Pokémon Company International established in 2003 and known for hosting the Pokémon World Championships, a competitive eSports tournament which features the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), the Pokémon Video Game Championships (VGC), and the Pokkén Tournament Championships. It is the official governing body of the competitive tournament circuit for Pokémon, as well as the organizer of a variety of programs for casual players of the game.
Pokémon is a media franchise based on a series of collectible creatures.
Pokémon HeartGold Version and Pokémon SoulSilver Version are 2009 remakes of the 1999 Game Boy Color role-playing video games Pokémon Gold and Silver, also including features from Pokémon Crystal. The games are part of the fourth generation of the Pokémon video game series and were developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Gold and Silver, the games were released in Japan on September 12, 2009, and were later released in other regions during March 2010.
MissingNo., short for "Missing Number" and sometimes spelled without the period, is an unofficial Pokémon species found in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue. Due to the programming of certain in-game events, players can encounter MissingNo. via a glitch. It is noted as one of the most famous video game glitches of all time.
Charizard, known in Japan as Lizardon, is a Pokémon in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Atsuko Nishida, Charizard first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels. They have later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. It is known as the Flame Pokémon. Shin-ichiro Miki, the actor who voices James in the original Japanese version of the Pokémon anime, voices Charizard in both the Japanese and English-language versions of the anime. An orange, draconic Pokémon, Charizard is the evolved form of Charmeleon and the final evolution of Charmander. It also has two Mega Evolved forms, Mega Charizard X and Y, that were likely both designed by Tomohiro Kitakaze, the designer of Mega Charizard X, and are not permanent and always revert to the normal Charizard form once a battle is complete. It also has a Gigantamax form in Pokémon Sword and Shield, which changes its appearance and size for 3 turns, until it is knocked out, until it is returned, or until the battle ends.
Raymond Rizzo is a three-time Pokémon Video Game World Champion.
Park Se-jun (Korean: 박세준), also referred to as Sejun Park, is a South Korean Pokémon video gamer and Pokémon Trading Card Game player. He is best known for winning the Masters Division of the Video Game Championships (VGC) at the 2014 Pokémon World Championships.
The Pokémon World Championships is an invite-only esports event organized by The Pokémon Company. It is held annually in August and features games from the Pokémon series such as the Pokémon video games, Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokkén Tournament, Pokémon Unite and Pokémon Go. Players earn invitations to the World Championships based on their performance in qualifiers and other tournaments held throughout the season and compete for scholarship money, prizes and the title of World Champion. With the exception of Asia, invitations to the World Championships are administered by the Play! Pokémon program.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a 2019 mystery film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the Pokémon franchise, the film is a loose adaptation of the 2016 video game Detective Pikachu. It was written by Letterman, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit and Derek Connolly, from a story by Hernandez, Samit and Nicole Perlman, and produced by Legendary Pictures and Toho. It was the first live-action Pokémon film and the first live-action film based on a Nintendo game property since Super Mario Bros. (1993).
John Jacob Rabon IV, better known by his online pseudonym Alpharad, is an American YouTuber, esports personality, and musician. He is best known for his gaming videos on the Super Smash Bros. series along with his participation in the fighting game community as a tournament organizer.
Competitive play in Pokémon generally refers to player versus player battles that take place using the Pokémon video games. Players construct a team of Pokémon as defined by a specific set of rules and battle as they would in the game until all Pokémon on a player's team have fainted or when a player resigns. These battles are usually done through the consoles in which the games are played in, or online through fan-made simulators such as Pokémon Showdown!.
Ludwig Ahgren is an American live streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, esports commentator and competitor. Ahgren is best known for his live streams on Twitch from 2018 through late 2021, and on YouTube beginning in late 2021, where he broadcasts video game-related content as well as non-video game-related content such as game shows, contests, and gambling. He is also known for his work as an esports commentator at various Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments. Since beginning streaming full-time on February 16, 2019, Ahgren had become one of the largest streamers on Twitch.
Pokémon Unite is a free-to-play, multiplayer online battle arena video game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by The Pokémon Company for Android and iOS and by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was announced in a Pokémon Presents presentation on 24 June 2020. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch on 21 July 2021, and was released for Android and iOS in 73 countries on 22 September 2021. As of April 2022, the game has been downloaded over 70 million times across all platforms.
The Pokémon 25th anniversary, officially branded as Pokémon25, was an ongoing celebration that went for the entire year of 2021 in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, which began with the original Japanese release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green for the Game Boy on February 27, 1996. The franchise was celebrated through various media of the franchise including video games, the anime, the manga, toys, clothing, music and events.
