A Journey Through Pokémon History: From Inception to Glory

One of my personal childhood memories is the advertisement of Italia Uno which sponsored the start of a new cartoon: Pokémon.

Even today I remember when outside of school they gave us children the album of stickers and some packages. I still remember its orange background with Ash and Pikachu in the foreground. And then the cards of the first generation, the t-shirts, the snacks with the white chocolate medallion, the fruit juice caps with the protagonists of the series…

Eeeh my dears…what magical times…the first events that led to the beginning of the “Pokémon Era”.

Take the first boy born in the 90s and rest assured that he will remember the very first acronym sung by Giorgio Vanni – also because I refuse to believe otherwise. Otherwise, I tell you dispassionately, review your priorities….

• The Beginnings

In any case, the father of the most famous little monsters on the planet is the Japanese Satoshi Tajiri. In 1996, thanks to his passion for insects, he had the idea of these Pocket Monsters (literally Pocket Monsters) and so, pencil and paper in hand, he drew the first Pokémon. And no, it's not Pikachu as one might think, but Rhydon.

The concept that revolves around Tajiri's idea was simple and at the same time brilliant: players would explore a fantasy world, capturing, training and fighting creatures called Pokémon, endowed with exceptional powers.

Attention, however, it should be noted that the "Pokémon" are born not thanks to the cartoon that we all know, but through the game.

In fact, based on this idea, the first video games were born: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, Pokémon Blue.

• The Global Explosion

The "Pokémon" phenomenon officially began in 1998, exactly 25 years ago.

Why on this date?

Well, it was in that year that the release of the first series of the cartoon arrived, with the historical protagonists Ash Ketchum, Misty, Brock and the very bad Team Rocket.

The colorful monsters landed and began to conquer the United States. Then Europe and other parts of the world followed. Here the first episode aired dates back to January 10, 2000 (I was there and I saw it!). The appreciation for these cute little creatures went viral.

Shortly thereafter, someone had another great stroke of genius.

Wizards of the Coast, an American company operating in the field of fantasy-themed games - yes, exactly those of Magic - bought the rights directly from Nintendo to produce a trading card game based on the Pokémon world.

Pokémon cards officially entered the market, first in Japan (1996), then in America (1998), and became a real collector's fever.

With this move, checkmate, guys. Thus began the real Pokémon Mania!

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All right... this sort of walk down memory lane is beautiful, but when it comes to business, sentimentality must be left aside; And the creators who studied and created the Pokémon card game of Wizards of the Coast (purchased by Hasbro in 1999), who in 2003 were kicked out by Nintendo, know it well. In fact, the latter decides to catch ALL of her Pokémon and to publish the TCG independently.

Smartass!

You understand me…

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• Multimedia expansion

A new world opens up for the Pokémon universe: that of spin-offs, involving more and more characters and creatures.

In 1999, Ash and Pikachu made their big screen debut with 'Pokémon The Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back', which captured the imaginations of fans of all ages. More movies and television specials followed, taking the Pokémon universe to new heights.

To date, there are 24 films based on the franchise.

• The constant evolution

Over the years, the Pokémon games have undergone many evolutions. New generations have been introduced, creating hundreds of new creatures, abilities and environments. The main series of games has expanded across several Nintendo consoles, from the Game Boy to the current Nintendo Switch. Each new generation brought innovations, such as new Pokémon types, new game mechanics, and online multiplayer modes.

• The Pokémon GO phenomenon

In 2016, Pokémon made a dramatic reappearance with the arrival of Pokémon GO, a mobile application that brought Pocket Monsters into the real world using augmented reality. Millions of people of all ages took to the streets, catching Pokémon, challenging gyms, and making new friends. Pokémon GO proved that passion for the series was still strong, bringing together longtime fans and new players.

• The 25 Years, the current glory and the future

On Friday 24 March 2023, in Japan, the last episode of Pokémon went on, 25 years after its inception. Ash and his faithful Pikachu have said goodbye to this wonderful world, which has enchanted and made millions of children around the world dream, and many, today, have become adults.

Yet, the future for enthusiasts has new adventures in store.

Already! It's not time to take off the backpack yet, because the colorful little monsters will soon be back with a new series: Pokémon – The Horizons.

We will meet new heroes, new worlds and, of course, new creatures!

Pokémon in numbers

1. There are currently 122 Pokémon video games.
2. Initially there were 151 Pokémon. In just over 25 years, they have come to be 898!
3. The animated series is currently made up of 1238, each lasting 24 minutes.
4. There are thousands of Pokémon-themed events, such as card tournaments, video game competitions, and conventions around the world.
5. 25 Edition which in the summer of 2005 organizes the first Italian Pokémon Day in which about 1200 people participate.
6. Playing cards are available in Japanese, English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean and Russian.
7. Among the rarest is a limited edition Pikachu card made of 11 grams of 24-karat gold.

And the cash flow?

1. It is the second largest video game franchise in history.
2. The franchise has surpassed $100 billion in combined retail sales over the years.
3. With the release of Pokémon Go, Nintendo earned 23 billion dollars on the stock exchange.
4. Pikachu Illustrator card and its great rarity (as well as immense value). This card was created in 1998 for a drawing competition in Japan. Only 39 of the cards were produced from this. For example, in 2019, a high-quality Pikachu Illustrator card sold for 195,000+ at auction.
5. The main series of Pokémon video games has sold over 368 million copies worldwide to date.
6. In November 2017, The Pokémon Company said they had sold over 300 million video games worldwide.