When did pokémon come out in america? Pokémon has almost been around for 25 years and the franchise has come a long way since the first generation. Ever since fans first got their hands on the many adaptations, they have been loyal and dedicated to the franchise. A lot of them know just about everything there is to know about Pokémon.

However, there are also a lot of casual fans and newcomers to the franchise who may not know as much as the hardcore fanbase. If they have ever wondered when the series first released and some of the other interesting facts about the franchise, now is a great time to learn.

10. When It Came Out 

Pokémon first released on February 27, 1996. It would take a couple of years for the franchise to take off all around the world as it was only in Japan until 1998.

It released in North America on September 28, 1998, in Australasia on October 23, 1998, and in Europe on October 5, 1999. Once it came out, it became a phenomenon and everyone was obsessed with the adorable yet powerful creatures. The franchise became so successful and popular in nearly every form of media including movies, TV shows, and of course, video games.

9. It Started As A Video Game

Despite common belief, the franchise actually did not begin with the trading card game nor the anime. Pokémon was introduced to the world as a video game on the Game Boy in which players would go on a quest to catch and battle Pokémon. It told the story of a boy who fights eight Gym Leaders with the Pokémon he catches.

Along the way, he encounters a group of criminals, known as Team Rocket, and has to stop them from harming the poor creatures. Upon getting all eight badges, players are able to challenge the Elite Four and the Champion. If they succeed, they become the newest Champion of the Kanto Region.

8. Short For “Pocket Monsters”

For those that ever wondered why the series is called Pokémon, it is because the creatures that trainers catch are monsters that can fit into their pocket.

Of course, due to the large size of many of them, trainers need Poké Balls to catch their Pokémon, shrink them down to size, and store them in their pockets. It would otherwise be quite difficult to stuff a Snorlax in their pocket.

7. Shigeru Miyamoto Produced It

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Nintendo’s other most popular franchises, Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, also helped bring this game to life. In fact, if it weren’t for him, Nintendo would not have worked on the game at all and would have missed one of their biggest opportunities.

Luckily, Miyamoto was able to convince the company to work on Pokémon. In return, the creator of the game, Satoshi Tajiri, named the player’s rival after Miyamoto and the player after himself.

6 How Tajiri Came Up With The Idea

When he was a child, Satoshi Tajiri enjoyed playing with bugs. When he saw the Game Link Cable, an accessory used for the Game Boy, he came up with the idea of trading bugs with other Game Boy users.

The Game Link Cable allowed two Game Boys to connect and was used for gamers to play with each other prior to Nintendo having wireless and online multiplayer modes. It took six years for the game to release after Nintendo and Miyamoto agreed to work on the project. The hard work and patience paid off when Pokémon released and fans loved it.

5. There Was A Pokemon Green

Most people believe that the first two games were Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version. Though this was the case in many places around the world, Pokémon Blue Version was actually known as Pokémon Green Version when it first released in Japan.

As for Pokémon Blue Version, it was actually a polished version of the first two titles, removing glitches and making some improvements. This is why the first games’ remakes, Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen did not remake Pokémon Blue Version.

4. There Are 18 Types

There are eighteen types of Pokémon in the series. Each type has its own set of characteristics and moves that separate it from the others. Players who learn about each type’s strengths and weaknesses have a greater chance of winning battles overall.

The eighteen types are normal, fire, water, grass, ice, electric, rock, ground, steel, psychic, poison, flying, fighting, dark, bug, ghost, fairy, and dragon. The variety among types makes for more exciting battles that involve a lot of acquired knowledge and critical thinking in order to come out victorious.

3. There Was A Musical

There was a musical called Pokémon Live! in the early 2000s. It was heavily inspired by the anime, as demonstrated with the familiar plot and songs from the TV series.

In the musical, Ash and his friends face Team Rocket once again. Giovanni has created a robot inspired by Mewtwo called MechaMew2. He orders Jessie and James to capture Pikachu in order to teach MechaMew2 powers it doesn’t have.

Unlike in the anime, Pikachu actually gets captured and Ash ends up battling against Giovanni to get the electric mouse back and defeat the leader of Team Rocket. For as iconic and nostalgic as the music was in the anime and games, the musical was not very successful as it quickly ended in a few months.

2. There Was Also An Amusement Park

The popular franchise also had its own amusement park. It was known as Poképark and had two locations in Japan and Taiwan. The attractions included Battle Coaster Torn Sky, Dancing Pokémon Mini-tour, Pichu Bros’ Rascal Railway, Pokémon Starry Sky Trip, Team Aqua vs Team Magma Crash Car, and more.

In order to encourage fans to attend the park, they gave DS users a game called PokéPark: Fishing Rally DS. Despite this, like the musical, the amusement park was not around for long as both Japan and Taiwan’s parks closed the year they were built.

1. It Is The Most Popular Franchise Of All Time

Out of every media franchise, Pokémon is the highest-selling series in the entire world. It is worth over $100 billion overall, with the video games, card game, and merchandise being worth billions on their own.

The only other franchises that are worth over $50 billion are Anpanman, Star Wars, Mickey Mouse & Friends, Winnie the Pooh, and Hello Kitty. The video game series is also in the top three highest-selling video game series in the world.

Tetris is in second place and Mario is in first. Pokémon truly is a champion franchise.

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