History Professor Sarge - Pokemon!

Good evening students, please take your seats. Welcome to History Professor Sarge's first lesson. Today we will have a look at the Pokemon Video game franchise and see how it all began.

Pokemon began it's life as a concept based on Japanese Gatcha machines (the machines that have random toys hidden in capsules.)  The original idea was the player could purchase monsters from the Gatcha machines and use them to fight other people. The original name was "Capsule Monsters" which due to a copyright infringement became "Capumon" then became "Pocket Monsters" or Pokemon in the west as we know it now.

Believe it or not, the game was originally rejected by Nintendo, which is now a multi billion dollar franchise. The only thing that saved Pokemon from the chopping block was legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, as he saw potential in the series and became a mentor to the developer of Pokemon.

The first game developed was Pokemon Green and Red, however in the west we received Blue and Red which were very popular and sold well.

With the simultaneous launch of the anime series which followed Ash Ketchum, the Pokemon franchise cemented itself as a smah hit and has grown from a Magicarp into the Garydos we see today!

The game franchise can be split in two. On one hand, you have the RPG series which are considered the main Pokemon games, and on the other you have the spin-offs such as Pokemon Snap.

Here is a list of all Pokemon Games. I have sorted the RPG series in it's own timeline for your convenience.

Main RPG Series

Generation I (Game Boy)

Pocket Monsters: Red and Green (1996)

Pocket Monsters: Blue (1996)

Pokémon Red and Blue 1998)

Pokémon Yellow (2000)

Pokémon Trading Card Game (2000)

Generation II (Game Boy Color)

Pokémon Gold and Silver (2001)

Pokémon Crystal (2001)

Generation III (Game Boy Advance)

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2003)

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (2004)

Pokémon Emerald (2005)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team 2006)

(Nintendo DS)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (2007)

Pokémon Dash (2007)

Pokémon Trozei! (2007)

Pokémon Ranger (2007)

Generation IV (Nintendo DS)

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (2008)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness (2008)

Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (2008)

Pokémon Platinum (2009)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (2009)

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (2010)

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (2010)

Generation V (Nintendo DS)

Pokémon Black and White (2011)

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 (2012)

(Nintendo 3DS)

Pokémon Rumble Blast (2011)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity (2013)

Generation VI (Nintendo 3DS)

Pokémon X and Y (2013)

Console games (Spinoffs)

Generation I (Nintendo 64)

Pokémon Stadium (1998)

Pokémon Stadium (2002)

Pokémon Snap (1999)

Pokémon Puzzle League (2001)

Hey You, Pikachu! (2000) *Not released outside of Japan

Pokémon Stadium 2 (2001)

Generation III (Nintendo GameCube)

Pokémon Colosseum (2004)

Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire (2004)

Pokémon Channel (2004)

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005)

Generation IV (Wii)

Pokémon Battle Revolution (2007)

My Pokémon Ranch (2008)

Pokémon Rumble (2009)

PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (2010)

Generation V (Wii and Wii U and DS)

Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure (2012)

Pokémon Conquest (2012)

PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond (2012)

Pokémon Rumble U (2013)

So there you have it. A brief rundown of how it all began and then a not so brief list of game titles! Want to know the History of another franchise? Let us know on our Facebook page and we may do a themed week on your choice! Until next time gamers, I'm off to catch em all!!!

-Professor Sarge (B.ed,H.ed)