Taylor Deemer

A Brief History of Pokémon

Generation I

Pokémon (known as Pocket Monsters in Japan) is a turn-based RPG video game series

made by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. The game involves the player catching

creatures called Pokémon and battling them with others. There were a total of 151 Pokémon for

players to catch. The idea for Pokémon was created from an old childhood hobby of collecting

insects by the game’s creator, Satoshi Tajiri. On February 27, 1996, Pokémon Red and Green

were released in Japan for the Game Boy.

Although both versions offered a nearly identical game, they had different Pokémon that

could only be obtained in that version. The main reason for making different versions of the

same game was to motivate players to trade Pokémon with each other, since this was the only

way to catch them all. Later, Pokémon Blue was released, which offered various graphical and

gameplay improvements and was released internationally as Pokémon Red and Blue in

September 18, 1998.

When the Pokémon series hit North America, it was a huge hit. The video games released

with an anime series and a trading card game, which were also big successes on their own. Later

in 1998 in Japan and 1999 in North America, Pokémon Yellow was released, a tweaked version

of Red and Blue which was based more on the anime series with Pikachu following the player

like in the anime.

Generation II

On November 21, 1999 in Japan and October 15, 2000 in North America, Game Freak

released the next generation of Pokémon: Pokémon Gold and Silver for the Game Boy Color.
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These games added 100 Pokémon to the existing roster of Pokémon, making a total of 251. The

game took place in the Johto region, which was west of the where Red and Blue took place;

Kanto, although you could visit Kanto in the late game. Later in 2000 for Japan and 2001 in

North America they released Pokémon Crystal, which started the trend of “premium” versions of

Pokémon. This version boasted new features and improvements, such as the ability to play as a

girl, and the Battle Tower.

Generation II added some new recurring features to gameplay. The main addition was

time-based events using a real-time clock. The game would shift from day to night just like in

real life, and certain Pokémon only appeared at certain times of the day. It also introduced

Pokémon breeding, where if you paired two Pokémon of the opposite gender together in the

daycare, they would have a chance of laying an egg that would hatch into a new Pokémon. Some

baby versions of Pokémon, like Pichu being the pre-evolution of Pikachu, could only be obtained

this way.

Generation III

On November 21, 2002 in Japan and March 19, 2003 in North America Game Freak

released Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for the Game Boy Advance. The game was set in a new

tropical region called Hoenn, and added 135 new Pokémon to the roster, with a total of 386

Pokémon. In 2004 in Japan and 2005 in North America, a premium version was released named

Pokémon Emerald, which added the Battle Frontier that added a lot of endgame content.

The recurring features that were added in this generation were gameplay tweaks like

abilities. Abilities were passive effects that certain Pokémon had that gave them different
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advantages and disadvantages in battle. Another feature added were Pokémon contest, where

instead of battling Pokémon would instead show off moves to judges similar to a dog show.

This was also the first generation to introduce remakes of a previous generation, with this

generation releasing Fire Red and Leaf Green in 2004, which were remakes of Pokémon Red and

Green. These versions were similar to the original versions of the games story and location wise,

but incorporated new gameplay elements like breeding and abilities. These games also came with

wireless adapters for the Game Boy Advance, eliminating the need for link cables.

Generation IV

On September 28, 2006 and April 22, 2007, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was released

for the Nintendo DS marking the start of Generation IV. The game was based in the Sinnoh

region, which was north of previous regions, adding 107 new Pokémon to the roster, making the

total of different Pokémon 493. In 2008 in Japan and 2009 in North America, Pokémon Platinum

was released being a premium version of Diamond and Pearl. Remakes of Pokémon Gold and

Silver were also released for the Nintendo DS, called Heart Gold and Soul Silver, in 2009 in

Japan and 2010 in North America.

This generation of Pokémon games were the first to boast 3D graphics for the

environments, however character and Pokémon sprites were still in 2D. One of the main features

that this generation added was online capability, letting players trade and battle with people from

all over the world. However, as of May 20, 2014 online play for Generation IV is no longer

supported, however later Pokémon games still incorporate and support online play. Players could

also transfer Pokémon from Generation III to any Generation IV game. This feature has been
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included in some shape or form throughout the series, making it possible to bring a Generation

III Pokémon through the entire rest of the series.

Generation V

On September 18, 2010 in Japan and March 6, 2011 in North America, Game Freak

released Pokémon Black and White for the Nintendo DS. These games took place in the Unova

region, which was loosely based on New York City. This generation added a large amount of

Pokémon, 156 to be exact, to the existing roster with a total of 649 different Pokémon to catch.

However, what makes these games unique was that you could only find the new Pokémon in the

region until you finished the main story.

Generation V did not add any major recurring features, but rather various tweaks to

gameplay, such as a nickname filter to prevent Pokémon from being called anything offensive.

Although Generation V was not a huge graphical improvement, since it was still on Nintendo DS

hardware, it did add minor improvements such as fully animated Pokémon sprites. Instead of

releasing a premium version of Black and White, Game Freak instead released two direct

sequels: Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 in 2012. These versions featured a completely different

story set two years after Black and White.

Generation VI

On October 12, 2013 worldwide, Game Freak released Pokémon X and Y for the

Nintendo 3DS. These games finally brought the main series to full 3D graphics, with

environments, characters, and Pokémon all being 3D modeled. They added just 72 new Pokémon

to the roster, with a total of 721 different species to catch. The games took place in the Kalos

region, being geographically based off northern Europe and culturally based off France.
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Although the system the games were on supported stereoscopic 3D (3D without glasses),

the game primarily only made it available during battles. Unfortunately, the game engine could

not handle the 3D effect most of the time, often causing the game to lag. These games introduced

Mega Evolutions, a new feature letting existing Pokémon to evolve into more powerful forms in

battle. These could even be fully evolved Pokémon such as Blastoise or Charizard. Game Freak

also released remakes of the Generation III games in 2014: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire,

which incorporated features from X and Y such as Mega Evolutions.

Generation VII

On November 18, 2016 worldwide, Game Freak released Pokémon Sun and Moon for the

Nintendo 3DS. The games takes place in the tropical Alola region, being heavily based on

Hawaiian culture. This generation adds 81 new Pokémon, with a current grand total of 802

different Pokémon to catch.

One thing new to the series are regional variants of existing Pokémon. Some of these

Pokémon not only look different than their original counterparts, but may also feature new

moves and types. This game also breaks tradition of previous Pokémon games, like instead of

collecting eight gym badges you instead partake on various trials across Alola fighting powerful

wild Pokémon called Totem Pokémon.

Since Generation VII is the current generation of Pokémon, only time will tell what’s

next for the series. Some people suspect for there to be Generation IV remakes, similar to

previous generations. The game developers have also considered making new main series

Pokémon games on the new Nintendo Switch, since it doubles as both a home console and a
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portable console. Only time will tell what’s next, but the future looks bright for the world of

Pokémon.