Pokemon

Pokémon is a media franchise built around video games, television shows, films, and books about small fictional animated creatures with super powers that can be trained and do battle. The name "Pokemon" comes from a mash up of the Japanese words poketto and monsutta, which translate as pocket monsters. The entire franchise began with a video game released for the Nintendo GameBoy in 1996.

Based initially off of this popular Nintendo series of games, the Pokemon universe is all about tiny pocket monsters (also known collectively as "Pokemon"), that do battle in the fictional universe. In the popular video games, the object is usually to find an unlock a large number of Pokemon species, train them, and then enter them in battle. The goal is to become a Pokemon Master. Trainers are known to use fictitious tools, known as Poke Balls, to harness and train wild Pokemon that are discovered in-game. For example, if one of the wild monsters is discovered, the trainers will toss the Poke Ball at the creature and if it is unable to escape, then it will obey the orders of an attentive trainer. This tool is advantageous in helping players fill out their electronic Pokedex, which is a virtual album of all unlocked characters in the game.

Since the popularity of the Nintendo video games launched the franchise, the Pokemon TV show has become very popular. Originating in 1998, the animated cartoon show, is targeted at children as its primary audience. The plot of the tv show focuses on a young boy Pokemon trainer named Ash Ketchum.

Based on the popularity of these media sensations, the characters from the show have been promoted as trading cards, toys, movies and apparel.

Background

Pokémon is based on the hobby of insect collecting. The collectors are called Pokémon Trainers, who each have a goal of filling a Pokédex with all available Pokémon, then training them to compete against those of other trainers. When two Pokémon battle, when one wins and makes the other faint, the winning Pokémon gains experience points needed to level up.