The Pokémon franchise has evolved a great deal since its introduction as a video game in the later years of the 20th century. Did you know that it’s one of the largest media franchises in the world? In fact, Pokémon is second only to Mario.
Pokémon video games have risen to fame due to their intriguing sense of adventure as the little creatures fight each other. With more than 800 Pokémon to date, the franchise has taken the entertainment industry by storm. Besides the video games, there are also anime series for television lovers. With such a vast world of Pokémon, it’s hard to know the finer details of the franchise. That said, below are five things that you didn’t know about Pokémon.
1. Fighting Pokémon are named after real-world fighters
Several Pokémon are inspired by real-life plants, animals, and people. Did you know that your favorite fighting Pokémon are named after popular martial artists in the real world? In the American version of Pokémon, Hitmonchan is named after Jackie Chan, while Hitmonlee is named after Bruce Lee. Moreover, in the Japanese version of Pokémon, the characters are known as Sawamular and Ebiwalar. They were named after Hiroyuki Ebihara and Tadashi Sawamura, who were both Japanese boxers.
2. First Pokémon to be designed
Most Pokémon fans think that Pikachu was the first Pokémon to have been created. However, this is not true. One of the original designers of the Pokémon series revealed that Rhydon was really the first Pokémon to be created.
3. Poison Pokémon represent pollution in two major cities in the world
Pollution has become an annoying menace in recent years. Surprisingly, two of the Pokémon in the franchise represent global warming in two major cities of the United States. Koffing represented New York City, while Weezing was created to represent Los Angeles. In the franchise, Koffing evolves into Weezing. Surprisingly, Weezing is always depicted as sad and frowning while Koffing is depicted as smiling. This shows how hard life gets when growing up.
4. Meowth and Pikachu are complete opposites of each other
Pikachu is depicted as the hero, while Meowth is shown as the antagonist. Interestingly, the designers took into consideration the obvious relationship between a cat and a mouse while creating the two characters. Another instance in which their opposite aspects are seen is in the Pokedex numbers. Meowth is at number 52 while Pikachu is at number 25.
5. Pokémon is an English word
While the majority of Pokémon fans know that it’s a Japanese creation, very few are aware that Pokémon is actually an English word. It was formed by combining the words, “pocket” and “monster”. Therefore, Pokémon translates to pocket monsters. This was inspired by the creator’s passion for collecting insects when he was a kid; just like many other kids out there.
With over 20 years dominating the media industry, the Pokémon franchise seems like it will never lose its appeal. However, even many die hard fans don’t know all there is to know about the popular franchise. The above facts will surely give you a grasp of some of the interesting things that you never knew about Pokémon before.
