Pokemon is a global sensation that has the hearts of children and adults for decades. Even if you’ve never played the game or interacted with the franchise, you know who Pikachu is.

Origins

Pokemon was inspired by Satoshi Tajiri’s love for bug collecting. Over the years, he noticed that kids played outside less due to urbanization. He wanted to recreate the joys of his childhood for an audience that did not have access to the outdoors. 

Tajiri pitched the idea to Nintendo in the 1990s. While most of the board found the concept too daunting, Shigeru Miyamoto decided to take a chance on the game. Inspired by other turn-based RPGs and shows at the time, Game Freak got to work and designed the first 150 Pokemon that would spark a global sensation by the following decade.

Pokemon Games

In February 1996, Pokemon Red and Green were released in Japan. The game steadily rose in popularity in Japan, leading to more releases. By 2000, the games were localized and distributed globally alongside the first season of Pokemon. Then came the first film, Pokémon: The First Movie. 

Between 1996 and 2024, over 100 games have been released under the Pokemon umbrella across every platform imaginable. This does not include games where the cast is included such as Smash Brothers, Taiko Tatsujin, and other Nintendo games. 

By 2016, there was a lull in the franchise. The attempt to revitalize interest came as the mobile game, Pokemon Go. This spurred the world to live out their dreams of becoming a real Pokemon trainer via their phones. Allowing players to catch Pokemon at their local parks, beaches, and cities, the game quickly became a global hit that encouraged people to go outside and explore the world. 

Pokemon TCG

The TCG came out after the release of the first Pokemon games to build on the series’s growing popularity. As its popularity grew worldwide, the TCG has become one of the biggest TCG tournaments, drawing thousands of people to compete to become the world champion. 

This year’s tournament will be hosted in Honolulu in August. 

The Anime

The first season of Pokemon aired in 1997 with some controversy due to an epileptic episode, and adults being weird about Pokemon being Satanic, or whatever nonsense they believed. However, since then the series and the 28 films have been relatively child-friendly and to this day, continue strong.

The first 25 seasons of Pokemon, feature the boy all 90s kids know and love, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town chasing his dream of being a Pokemon Master. We’ve watched Ash remain a 10-year-old for over 20 years as the rest of us became old enough to get kicked off our parents’ health insurance. 

However, in those 20-something years, Ash had never won a tournament he entered. It wasn’t until a much more recent season that he finally won his first tournament, becoming a Pokemon Master after almost 25 years of trying. The event trended online, celebrating the momentous win that marked the end of the show with him at the center.

Pokémon Horizons: The Series, a new series began airing in April 2023 and focuses on the duo of Liko and Roy as they journey around the world. However, a mysterious organization stalks them all around the world looking to take Liko’s necklace for reasons unbeknown to Liko.

Pokemon’s Biggest Mystery

Pokemon has many mysteries, such as what happened to Ash’s Primeape and how powerful are the Unown. However, the biggest mystery is: who is Ash’s father? 

Over the years, we’ve seen Delia, Ash’s mom, single-handedly support her son. It was to the point many of us believed she was a widower or a divorcee due to Ash asking about him at times. The identity of the mystery father had fans speculating it was Professor Oak or the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni. 

These theories don’t matter when Delia’s Pokemon, Mr. Mime exists. Over the seasons, we watched Mr. Mime help with the household and travel with her to visit Ash, acting as her right hand throughout the show. In the end, most fans agree Delia’s Mr.Mime was the dad who stepped up. 

Despite this, an OVA was released a few years ago, hinting that we’d finally meet the mystery man. Unfortunately, we missed him because Ash was too busy helping a ghost cross into the afterlife, keeping the mystery alive. 

A Global Sensation

It is difficult to live in the world and not know Pokemon. For over 20 years, the franchise has been a massive fixture in the lives of millions, bringing joy on a global scale. As long as games, shows, films, and merchandise continue to entertain and inspire the masses, Pokemon shall live.