Pokémon Day: 10 little known facts about the franchise

Pokémon Day is a thing. It’s celebrated every year on the 27th February and is usually tied in with new releases and exciting game opportunities. This year, fans can tune in to YouTube channels to get the latest updates as well as special Pokémon on their Pokémon Go apps. To celebrate, we have amalgamated our top ten facts about the franchise that are shocking, controversial, and just plain interesting…! 

In 1996, the video game Pokémon was created. The anime of the same name was originally meant to promote the game, as Pokefacts tells us. Yet, it has become just as - if not more - popular than the game itself, with 27 seasons following Ash Ketchum, catching them all.

Image: The Pokémon Company International

The reason for this quirky fact actually has a morally sound background. At the same time, it didn’t last long. According to Beano online, Sweden banned the TV show because it could be seen as an 'advert' for the merchandise. In Sweden, it is illegal to advertise to children. In the end, as a compromise, the Swedes may watch it now but without the tagline 'Gotta Catch 'Em All'. That's because the tagline allegedly suggests children 'should buy them all'.

Image: The Pokémon Company International

Created by Satoshi Tajiri with the idea of connecting two gameboys with one game, Pokémon didn’t really take off like he thought. No one really bought the idea, as Beano tells us, but Tajiri’s persistence came through after he worked round the clock without a salary to bring his creation to life.

A magician sued Pokémon after it had named the Pokémon Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam. Kadabra was even removed from the card trading games for an astonishing 21 years, as the magician complained the Pokémon was holding a spoon which closely resembled his own psychic act. The illusionist dropped the charges after many Pokémon fans had pleaded with him to allow Kadabra back into the trading card game.

Guinness World Records reminds everyone that the word 'Pokémon' actually comes from the words 'Pocket' and 'Monsters.' Literally, it makes perfect sense. 

During the first 5 months of Pokémon Go being released, gaming-related accidents increased by 26.5%, James Parker reports. There were - extraordinarily - 2 deaths, one by a shooting as the player searched for Pokémon in the night and another by a car crash, and $25.5 million was demanded in damages for accidents that happened.

Episode 38 showed Ash trying to solve a technical mystery revolving around a Porygon. In one scene, after Pikachu unleashed some electricity, there were red blue, and white strobe lights which, according to CBR, caused 600 Japanese children to be rushed to hospital with epileptic seizures.

Image: The Pokémon Company International

Pikachu’s agility is well known across the globe, but at the Osaka Bioscience Institute, they actually named an enzyme after the mouse-like friend. The Smart Local Japan outlet reports that 'Pikachurin' is an enzyme that "improves signal transmission from the eye to the brain by 4 times". A well-deserved homage.

Across Japan, you can find Pokémon-themed manholes and they are even related to the area in which they are placed. For example, ground-type Pokémon (featuring Sandshrew) are seen in the Tottori Prefecture (southern Honshu) where there are many sand dunes and a low human population. 

Animal organization PETA has been against the morals behind Pokémon, as it's a game that teaches kids to catch little animals and fight them. It all came to a head when offices of PETA refused to have any Pokémon on their property in the Pokémon Go app. They even created a spoof game called 'Pokémon Black & Blue', where the premise is to release as many Pokémon as you can with the tagline 'Gotta Free 'Em All'.

Power to the Pokémon.

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