This section takes the little history lesson in my introduction a
little further. You'd be surprised at some of the things behind the scenes of
Pokémon.
For instance, did you know that the martial arts Pokémon Hitmonlee
and Hitmonchan are tributes to Bruce
Lee and Jackie Chan? Other Pokémon were also given
cleverly descriptive names such as Charmander, a salamander with a ball of fire on its tail. Then there's
Bulbasaur, a dinosaur with a green garlic-like bulb on his back. And who could forget Squirtle, a turtle who squirts
water. Some are obvious but it's pretty smart don't you think?
Speaking of smart, what kids cartoon,
designed for children would use the word
equilibrium more than once? Both James and Ash
have used this word when they had lost balance, although James happened to say
'liqui-ibrium' and the second time Ash
used it, he said 'equi-whatsa'. Not that that's a
bad thing, Pokémon rules.
OK, back to the history lesson. It took Satoshi Tajiri
6 years to complete the first Pokémon game
and Game Freak Inc. almost went broke. Tajiri could
barely pay his employees and five of his workers quit when they found out
about the lack of money.
Then by 1996, Pokémon was completed, but
by then no one was interested in a Game Boy game. Game Boy was yesterday's
news. But did release
the game not expecting much from it. The Pokémon game slowly increased 
in sales and suddenly, Nintendo had a hit on its hands.
Nintendo then decided to animate the game. The
show produced in anime style, quickly became a hit with the kids in Japan.
Just when things were going good, an unpleasant surprised happened along. In
December 1997, about 700
kids had seizures while watching the show. Of course at this time,
negotiations were being made to release Pokémon in the US. How convenient.
Negotiations were hard but eventually Pokémon was released in the US with a
full range of games, toys, comic books and cards. Next came the TV
series. The WB network bought the rights to Pokémon,
renovated the show so as not to offend any viewers, tuned
down the violence and the seizure-causing flashing lights and
Westernized it. Names of the characters changed: Satoshi became Ash and Shigeru became Gary.
The Pokémon names
were also changed: Hitokage became Charmander, Fushigidane became Bulbasaur
and Zenigame became Squirtle.
The series was a success. Pokémon was then
released all around the world. Pokémon's popularity
grew and grew. Toys, games, soundtrack CD's and trading cards were constantly being sold out
and continues to do so (I know from experience because I can't get my hands on
any Booster Packs!).
Now with 'Pokémon: The First Movie' being released, Pokémon
definitely is becoming the biggest craze of all
time. Until of course the next craze comes along...
And so ends another epic of how one misfit's quest
turned into a global bonanza. I hope you weren't too bored out with this brief
history lesson!
