Description
Pokémon Trainers (Ash with #25 Pikachu) Series-1 Retired “Rare-Vintage” (1999)
*!!!!”Gotta Catch’em all”!!!*
*NRFC…Condition: Mint…MOC..
**1st Release 1999-#564962.0000**
*”NO LONGER AVAILABLE..RETIRED BY HASBRO SERIES-1 (1999)”*
DESCRIPTION:..
(History)..
*Originally developed as a Nintendo Game Boy video game in 1995, Pokemon took on a life of its own in merchandising possibilities. With books, movies, a television series, toys, trading cards, and games, there was no shortage of Pokemon items available. The name Pokemon came from the shortened version of its original name, “Pocket Monsters.”
(A Boy and His Pikachu)..
*The main character in the series is a boy named Ash Ketchum, who is on a quest to become the best Pokemon Master. His first Pokemon, Pikachu, along with his friends Brock, Misty (and sometimes others), have many adventures together discovering different species of Pokemon. Players catch and train Pokemon creatures and use them in competitions. Each character has certain powers which the Pokemon trainer can use to battle other characters.
*Of course, there is always a visit from the bad guys, Team Rocket (consisting of Meowth, Jessie and James), who try to steal Pikachu in a variety of unsuccessful ways. Interestingly, Meowth is the only Pokemon character, aside from the humans, who can talk. All of the other Pokemon only speak their name.
(Pokemon Types)..
*Each Pokemon character is classified by type, and that, in turn, identifies their strength. For instance, there are electric, fire, grass, ice, water, and other types. As they build strength, the Pokemon evolve into other creatures and increase their strengths. This accounts for why there are so many Pokemon in existence
Paul Cunningham –
**BIG IN JAPAN**
_”Poke’mon & Pocket Monsters”_
*The argument that children are not seriously affected by what they watch on television received a damaging blow on Dec 16, 1997 when hundreds of children across Japan suffered fits and convulsions while watching their favorite cartoon program. After inquiries, the culprit was found to be a series of strobe-style flashing colored lights during a cartoon character’ transformance scene. The number of victims had been increased by the fact that the incident had occurred during the most popular cartoon series in recent years, Pocket Monsters.
*Pocket Monsters, or “Pokemon,” began life as a Nintendo game in Feb 1996, based on every child’s obsession – monsters, and lots of them. One hundred and fifty of them to be exact, all nurtured by the owners of the tiny gameboy devices. The marketing ploy that led to Pokemon’s initial success was that the gameboys were sold in two different sets. By linking up the different gameboys with a special lead, children could swap monsters and pit them against each other in arena-style battles – like the trading card system, only better. Also, the monsters were not designed to frighten but to appeal. These were cuddly, cute, peculiarly Japanese monsters that you would quite happily take home under your coat if you found one in real life.
*Impressive sales garnered a lot of industry attention and in April 1997 Pokemon debuted on Japanese TV as a children’s anime series. One monster in particular became the series mascot, embedding itself in the nation’s consciousness alongside Godzilla and Ultraman. This was the small, yellow, rodent-like creature known as Pikachu. This rosy-cheeked little devil now appears across the nation in the form of soft toys, key rings, snack foods, candy boxes, not to mention being scrawled in the back of every pre-adolescent’s schoolbook. The anime show also introduced some human characters, such as the young boy Satoshi, whose dream is to become the world’s greatest trainer of fighting monsters. Conflict is provided by the villains, Musashi and Koliro, who are always trying to spoil Satoshi’s dreams and steal the glory for themselves.
*The “Pokemon Shock Incident” (as it was dubbed by the tabloids) led to the suspension of the program and a public apology from the chairman of TV Tokyo. However, nothing stands in the way of profit and the series returned to the small screen in April 1998, more popular than ever.
*Having conquered the domestic market, the Pokemon masters are now setting their sights on the rest of the world. Since Sept 1997, the program has been aired on TV stations across the US with phenomenal success. The Summit Media Group, which markets the program in the States, reported that it was “spreading like wildfire” among American children. It has also been shown in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Shogakkan Production Co., the program’s overseas agents, are currently negotiating with mainland China, Italy and Germany. Masakazu Kubo, a senior executive at Shogakkan, has stated that they intend to turn Pikachu into a global icon as ubiquitous as Mickey Mouse.
*Watch out! That loud thump you hear could well be the sound of thousands of Western kids hitting the floor – their brains failing to cope with the overdose of cuteness.