Pokémon

aka Pocket Monsters. 1997–. TV series. (500 X 30 min., con­tinuing series.) Children’s fantasy/adventure. 1999–2007. 9 Movies (varying lengths). org Satoshi Tajiri (video game). dir Kunihiko Yuyama, Masamitsu Hidaka, others. -bc

Based on a video game, Pokémon became one of the most popular animated series in Japanese history and then repeated that success in the U.S. and around the globe. In a world where humans coexist with creatures called Pokémon, a young boy catches Pokémon and trains them for battles with other trained Pokémon. Despite its reliance on formula, the series and its movie spinoffs offered consistently engaging characters, witty charm, and abundant visual imagination.

Ash Ketchum is a ten-year-old boy whose greatest wish is to train Pokémon and become a Pokémon master. Pokémon represent a variety of sentient creatures of plant, animal, and mineral origin, each with special powers, who can be caught in poké-balls and trained by their owners to engage in battles with other Pokémon using whatever maneuvers are unique to them, for example, “thunderbolt,” “water gun,” “ice beam,” “heat wave,” “razor leaf,” and “vine whip.” The only sounds most Pokémon can make are the syllables making up their own names. Ash bonds with his first Pokémon, Pikachu, an electric mouse Pokémon who refuses to stay in his poké-ball, and the two become inseparable. As Ash journeys from town to town to engage in Pokémon matches with other trainers, he picks up two companions, Misty, a girl from Cerulean City whose specialty is water Pokémon, and Brock, a teenage boy whose dream is to be a Pokémon breeder, but who is constantly sidetracked by the girls he meets on the journey, most notably the various incarnations of Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny whom they encounter in every town. For one season, Brock was replaced in the group by Tracey, a Pokémon watcher who spends his time drawing Pokémon.

The series is structured around a series of Pokémon competitions in different geographical areas, given such names as Indigo League, Orange Islands, and Johto League. Ash must win gym badges in local contests in order to qualify in the bigger tournaments. As he travels and trains, he learns more about Pokémon and about other people, and gradually acquires a high degree of confidence and skill. In Advanced Generation, the second half of the series, Misty decides to return home to Cerulean City and Ash gains new companions in May, a young girl who wants to be a Pokémon coordinator, and her little brother Max. Along the way, he and his companions assist other trainers, care for needy Pokémon, and intervene in various disputes.

Comedy relief is provided by regular villains Jessie and James of Team Rocket, a criminal organization seeking to capture rare Pokémon by stealing them from their owners. The two are accompanied by Meowth, an intelligent cat Pokémon who has the rare ability to talk, and they make bumbling attempts to steal Pikachu in practically every episode, announcing their intent with a joint refrain that begins with “Prepare for trouble/And make it double. . . . ”

The annual movie spin-offs all feature the characters in grand adventures pitting the heroes and their Pokémon in life-or-death struggles against formidable opponents starting with MewTwo (Pokémon: The First Movie), a highly advanced cat Pokémon clone who tries to clone existing Pokémon and turn them against their human masters, and including Entei (Pokémon the Movie 3), a legendary Pokémon conjured up to serve the wishes of a grieving little girl; the Iron Mask (Pokémon 4Ever), a nefarious Pokémon hunter who seeks to capture the legendary Celebi, “spirit of the forest”; Annie and Oakley (Pokémon Heroes), sophisticated female Team Rocket agents who take over the island kingdom of Alto Mare to use its ancient defense mechanism to take over the world; Butler (Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker), a magician working for Team Magma who captures the benevolent wish-making Jirachi and seeks to use its power to revive a powerful long-dormant monster Pokémon; and Deoxys (Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys), an alien Pokémon who attacks a high-tech Western city looking for a lost companion, and faces an onslaught by Rayquaza, a dragon Pokémon.

  TV:

Pokémon Chronicles (2004–6, 89 eps.)

Movies:

Pokémon: The First Movie (aka Mewtwo Strikes Back, aka Mewtwo vs. Mew, 1999)

Pokémon the Movie 2000 (aka The Power of One, aka Revelation Lugia, 2000)

Pokémon the Movie 3 (aka Spell of the Unown, aka Lord of the Unknown Tower, 2001)

Pokémon 4Ever (aka Celebi, Voice of the Forest, aka Celebi: A Timeless Encounter, 2002)

Pokémon Heroes (aka Guardian Spirits of the Water Capital: Latias and Latios, 2003)

Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (2004)

Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2005)

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (aka Mew and the Wave-Guiding Hero, Lucario, 2006)

Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2007)

TV Specials:

Mewtwo Returns (2000)

The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon (2006)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! (2006)

Pikachu’s Winter Vacation (1999–2001, 3 eps.)

Pikachu Shorts:

Pikachu’s Summer Vacation (1998)

Pikachu’s Rescue Adventure (1999)

Pikachu and Pichu (2000)

Pikachu’s PikaBoo (2001)

Camp Pikachu (2002)

Gotta Dance!! (2003)

Pikachu’s Summer Festival (2005)

Pikachu’s Ghost Carnival (2006)

Pikachu’s Island Adventure (aka Pikachu’s Mischievous Island, 2007)

The TV series continues as of this writing, having passed 500 episodes, split up into several TV “seasons” (Pokémon, Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, Pokémon: Johto League Champions, Pokémon: Master Quest, Pokémon: Advanced, Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, Pokémon: Advanced Battle, Pokémon: Battle Frontier, Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl). One theatrical movie has been released per year, and twenty-two-minute short films spotlighting Pikachu and other Pokémon accompanied the first six movies. A spinoff TV series, Shukan Pokémon Hosokyoku (Pokémon Chronicles), ran from 2002–4, and focused on supporting characters’ stories. It began airing on the Cartoon Network in the U.S. in June 2006.

Pokémon is very much a cartoon series, with simple designs, static animation and rounded shapes that make it easy to animate all the diverse Pokémon. A lot of attention is paid to the design of the Pokémon, with child-friendly shapes and bright primary colors and an attempt to make every one of the 493 Pokémon (so far) completely distinct from every other one, a goal that’s generally met. Most of the human characters have simple, exaggerated features, with Ash and Misty given the same sets of vertically elongated eyes that take up half of their faces, while Brock has perennially closed little semi-circles for eyes. Still, the animators manage to invest the main characters and the key Pokémon with a range of emotions that would be impressive in a more detailed animated human drama. Ash retains the same design throughout the entire nine seasons (so far), yet the maturing of his character is quite evident in the way his expressions and movements change over the course of the series, and in the way he carries himself.

While the backgrounds and settings are, again, presented rather simply, they are always colorful and interesting to look at ranging pretty widely across the globe, from the Japanese countryside to desert and mountain locales to the American West to urban settings, tropical islands, and small towns. The series excels at capturing scenes of nature in all their pristine beauty, usually in the depiction of Pokémon rituals, such as the Butterfree mating season or the mass migration of Bulbasaurs to their annual evolution festival. This latter sight is set in a sprawling meadow in the light of a full moon and shows the glowing plants on the reptilian Bulbasaurs’ backs emitting a shower of pollen to give a sparkle to the landscape and cause all the flowers to spontaneously blossom. Such blissful moments are not as common as the usual Pokémon battles, but when they occur the series moves just a little closer to the realm of Japanese animated art.

The movies are much higher-budgeted and offer more detailed background work as the characters find themselves in such intricate settings as the island kingdom of Alto Mare, modeled on Venice, Italy, in Pokémon Heroes; the high-tech city of Larousse, modeled on Vancouver, in Destiny Deoxys; and the surreal crystal fortress created by the mystical Unown to house a sad girl’s fantasy world in Pokémon the Movie 3. Most of these settings are created via 3D computer-generated imagery (CGI), which is integrated with the 2D character animation better in some movies than in others. In addition, those movies set in the natural world, Pokémon 4Ever, Jirachi Wish Maker, and Lucario and the Mystery of Mew have the most beautiful, lush natural settings of the entire series.

There are two main reasons to watch Pokémon. The first and most obvious is the sheer range of inventive imagination applied to the creation of the nearly five hundred different Pokémon created so far for the series. Even when they veer to the scary or repulsive side (e.g., Grimer, the sludge Pokémon), all the Pokémon are a thorough delight to watch, especially when the stories place them in situations where they get to bond with each other away from the battles and competitions. The Pikachu shorts that accompany the movies and only feature Pokémon, are especially welcome in this regard. Many Pokémon have distinct personalities, aided by voice artists, both Japanese and American, who grasp the Pokémon sensibility and make these creatures come alive for us. Interestingly, the two most important Pokémon, Ash’s sidekick, Pikachu, and Misty’s companion, Togepi, are both voiced in the English dub using the original Japanese voice tracks (supplied by Ikue Otani and Satomi Koorogi, respectively).

The other main reason to watch is the character of Ash Ketchum himself, who can be seen in the early episodes as a high-strung boy—cocky, overzealous, impulsive, and very full of himself. Over the seasons he develops confidence, skill, generosity, and understanding, and turns into quite a brave and noble young man. He is always ready to stop his journey to help another young trainer or a Pokémon in need, and he’s quick to denounce bad behavior, whether it’s from Team Rocket or corrupt older people who exploit or mistreat Pokémon. The dramatic core of the series is found in Ash’s interactions with his peers, starting with Misty, but including dozens of other young trainers he meets, and with various adult figures, including his mother, Delia, and his mentor, Professor Oak, as well as numerous others he encounters along the way. He seeks wisdom from those who can teach him, and teaches those who need his guidance. Pokémon is a classic quest narrative with a truly admirable young hero.

The other supporting characters deserve some singling out as well. Ash’s relationships with his female peers, especially Misty and May, are particularly nuanced and provide a great deal of the series’ appeal to girls. In Ash’s relationship with Misty, the two start out as fierce competitors, appalled at the mere hint of the notion that they like each other. Yet, as they mature, there is clearly a deep bond between them and there are moments that betray their true feelings. May is a little younger than Misty (who’s about a year or two older than Ash) and is more impulsive, open, and affectionate with Ash, who takes on the role of big brother with her. Even Jessie, the redheaded villainess of Team Rocket, is quite often an endearing and charming character, revealing enough about herself over the course of the series to win our fleeting sympathy and keep viewers from getting too tired of her antics. Jessie and James are quite a conflicted pair, who more than a few times, especially in the movies, throw their lot in with Ash and company, even performing heroic acts on rare occasion.

Pokémon has never received the critical acclaim it has deserved, not even from the anime fan community, largely because of its kiddie orientation and the formulaic nature of the series, which has changed little after nine seasons. This indifference has been particularly harmful to the Pokémon movies, all of which have been compelling animated adventures filled with spectacular images and gripping narrative twists, and all giving Ash a chance to shine in full heroic mode. To single out one rousing moment in Pokémon: The First Movie, Ash stands alone as he rallies the real Pokémon to stand up to their malevolent clones in the fortress laboratory of the embittered superclone, MewTwo. As MewTwo watches Pikachu turn the other cheek and suffer repeated slaps by his clone without lifting a finger to fight back, he begins to have a change of heart and understand the bond that can develop between Pokémon and their owners.

Pokémon: The First Movie (aka MewTwo Strikes Back) is arguably the best of the movies, largely because it has the most interesting villain and a distinct science fiction theme and setting. Other superb Pokémon movies include Pokémon 4Ever, which borrows liberal doses of its plot from Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke to tell the story of a pristine forest paradise invaded by Team Rocket’s heavy-hitting Pokémon hunter, Iron Mask; Jirachi Wish Maker, the first movie to include May and Max, which involves a quest to return the title Pokémon, who appears once every thousand years, to its hidden magical forest setting one step ahead of the nefarious Team Magma; and Destiny Deoxys, in which Ash and his friends, along with a group of new Pokémon trainer friends, represent the last line of defense for a city under attack by Deoxys, an alien Pokémon seeking something that was taken from him by a Pokémon scientist when he landed on Earth. The weakest Pokémon movies tend to be those like Pokémon the Movie 2000 and Pokémon Heroes, which offer the least formidable villains, with relatively little at stake for Ash and company. Still, they each offer distinct pleasures for the open-minded anime fan.

Some of the best moments in the Pokémon movies are those scenes that involve large numbers of different Pokémon, whether seen massing to­gether in a show of support, as in Pokémon the Movie 2000, or coexisting in the wild in a dazzling array of colorful exotic species found in the untrammeled forests of Pokémon 4Ever and Jirachi Wish Maker or on the Tree of Beginning in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

One big problem for Pokémon fans, however, is the inherent contradiction that lies at the very heart of the series. Much lip service is paid to the relationships between trainers and their Pokémon and the friendships that form, yet these same Pokémon are kept in little poké-balls much of the time and sent out into battle with other Pokémon in bouts that often leave them dazed and battered. The series never quite reconciles the violence at the center of the Pokémon world with the rosy sentiments frequently voiced by the main characters about their love for Pokémon.

One of the most unique episodes, “Go West Young Meowth,” tells the origin story of Meowth, Team Rocket’s talking cat Pokémon sidekick, and his journey to L.A. in the hopes of achieving stardom like his hero, the star of the Hollywood film, That Darn Meowth. Instead he winds up on the streets of L.A., running with a gang of cats. He meets a pretty feline with a rich owner and decides to learn to walk and talk like a human to try to be worthy of her. Romantic disappointment paves the way for recruitment by Team Rocket and the rest is history.

Each of the Pikachu shorts is a standout because we get to see the Pokémon interact without their owners around. Pikachu’s Rescue Adventure is particularly noteworthy because it has more of a plot and genuine suspense than the others as it centers around the search for a missing Togepi in a vast forest in the middle of a torrential storm.

The music score of Jirachi Wish Maker includes a melodic closing song, “Make a Wish,” which, in a first for Pokémon movies, was heard in the English dub in both English and Japanese versions, with alternating vocals by Cindy Mizelle and Asuka Hayashi.

Director Kunihiko Yuyama is the chief director on the series and the credited director on every Pokémon movie and Pikachu short. Previously, he’d worked as a unit director on the TV classic Galaxy Express 999 and directed GoShogun: The Time Étranger, Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko, Windaria, and Kimagure Orange Road: Summer’s Beginning.

The English dub employed a cast of stage-trained New York actors, including Veronica Taylor (His and Her Circumstances, Maetel Legend), Rachael Lillis (Boogiepop Phantom, Revolutionary Girl Utena), Megan Hollingshead (Boogiepop Phantom, His and Her Circumstances), and Eric Stuart (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Slayers).

The character names in the English dub have been changed from their original Japanese names. Ash’s original name was Satoshi, Misty’s was Kasumi, Brock’s was Takeshi; Jessie and James were Musashi and Kojiro, and Meowth was Nyarth (pronounced “Nyasu”). Pikachu is the same in both, although most of the Pokémon names are different. The series is likewise localized in other countries around the world.

Pokémon first entered world consciousness after an episode entitled “Electric Soldier Porygon” was broadcast in Japan on December 16, 1997, and used an editing effect employing rapid flashing lighting effects that led to epileptic seizures in hundreds of young viewers and their subsequent hospitalization.

There are movie references in many Pokémon episodes, most notably “Showdown at Dark City,” which offers a plot inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s samurai classic, Yojimbo. Others have references to Godzilla and The Poseidon Adventure.

Japanese pop singers have performed on the Pokémon movie soundtracks, including Namie Amuro, Tommy February, and Puffy Ami Yumi. American pop singers have performed on the English dubs of the movie soundtracks, including Christina Aguilera, Donna Summer, and Weird Al Yankovic.

The first three Pokémon movies were given wide theatrical releases in the U.S. by Warner Bros., making Pokémon: The First Movie the very first Japanese animated feature to get a nationwide release from a major Hollywood studio. Miramax distributed Pokémon movies 4 and 5 in limited release, to diminishing returns, and every movie since then has gone straight to DVD in the U.S. Interestingly, Pokémon: The First Movie was released in the U.S. two weeks after Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke opened in limited release through Miramax.

In 2006, 4Kids Entertainment, the series’ longtime American producer, did not renew its contract and the rights reverted to Pokémon USA, which, for reasons that remain murky, promptly began dubbing ninth-season episodes with an entirely new voice cast, heard for the first time in the episode broadcast on April 29, 2006, “The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon.” Fans were not pleased at losing the cast of familiar voices who had been with the show since its first English-dubbed episode and a petition campaign to reinstate the original cast was begun.

violence Some of the Pokémon are pretty threatening, with sharp teeth, gaping jaws and slicing blades. Many of the battles are quite violent, with characters being battered around pretty harshly. Parents of the very young may want to keep certain episodes from the two- to four-year-old set. advisory Yes, fan service exists in Pokémon. Long-legged policewoman Officer Jenny wears impossibly short skirts (with pumps) in some appearances. One episode, “The Mandarin Island Miss Match,” introduced a buxom, short-skirted adult female trainer named Prima, who had the older male viewers celebrating the episode on the anime newsgroups. There is also cross-dressing. James of Team Rocket often goes about in disguise, frequently dressing up as a girl. He’s been a ballerina, a hula girl, Marie Antoinette, a blond schoolgirl, and, at his most fetching, Officer Jenny, short skirt, heels, and all. In “Beauty and the Beach,” James even wears a bikini and large fake breasts. This episode was initially held back from U.S. broadcast and shown only after the “offending” scene was removed entirely. Other episodes have been withheld from broadcast or been the subject of controversy for a variety of reasons, too numerous to cite here. One Pokémon, Jynx, was believed by some observers to be modeled on stereotypical black caricatures and was denounced as racist by at least one prominent scholar.