Pokémon was introduced to the US in the most bonkers way possible

Pokémon has become so ubiquitous it’s difficult to imagine a time when Pikachu and friends didn’t exist. The beloved pocket monsters are spread across anime, video games, trading card packs, and so many toys — from plushies to Happy Meal collectibles. Check out the latest games. Pokémon ScarletAnd VioletThey are set to go live on Nov. 18

But it wasn’t always that way. Pokémon debuted in Japan in 1996, and though the anime and video games were wildly successful overseas, its continued success in the U.S. wasn’t always a guarantee; and there were even years when it seemed the franchise might not even survive.

Daniel Dockery’s Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All digs into Pokémon’s illustrious history, from the creator Satoshi Tajiri’s inspirations to Pokémon’s overwhelming global popularity. The franchise’s success in the U.S. owes a lot to its localization, which included English names and catchphrases, along with wild publicity stunts — including a day in which Topeka, Kansas, was renamed “ToPikachu,” and planes dropped hundreds of Pikachu stuffed toys from the sky.

Here’s an exclusive excerpt that goes into detail about that fateful day, along with the lesser-known history of Pokémon’s English-language debut and the wild media blitz that introduced Pikachu to Americans.

Image: Running Press/Hachette Book Group

“Gotta Catch ’Em All. Gotta Catch ’Em All.”

Invented for English. Pokémon debut, this phrase was eventually slapped onto nearly everything related to Pokémon outside of Japan and was repeated frequently during the A Sneak Peek at Pokémon Promo VHS tape. It’s a catchy chant, one that you’re bound to remember even if you can’t recall any of the names of the monsters. And that is why it is so effective, as parents and kids didn’t need to know the names . . . yet. They just needed to understand that the best thing to do was to be there. All They are all there.

The following instructions can be used: Nintendo Power To promote the franchise to its fans, the promotional tapes were posted around the country via a mailing list. A tactic that Nintendo used previously for the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. In the sneak peek are two adult narrators: one is a professor who spends the whole time explaining what a Pikachu and a Pokédex are, as well as affirming those watching that Ash Ketchum, the main character, has “class.” The other narrator is Ash Ketchum’s Aunt Hillary, who can’t seem to decide whether they’re called “Poke-uh-min” or “Poke-aye-mon things,” but is very excited about the prospect of her animated nephew capturing hundreds of them.

Then, throughout the tape, kids show up to explain various characters or situations—including a preteen girl who seems to own nothing but Pokémon plush toys of various sizes—but, for the most part, it’s up to the two adults in garishly lit rooms to try to convince you to find out what channel the show will be on. The tape also promoted the video games, along with the Pokémon Pikachu virtual pet and the trading card game, merchandise that would all debut a few months after the games’ release. Then the sneak peek ends by telling viewers to keep an eye out for the “PokéCars,” which would be driving around the country, showing off the anime and games, and even handing out free Pokémon stuff to any fan who happened to be way too close to the street at the time.

The whirlwind informational and product-related chaos that goes on for less than 15 minutes is most likely an utter nonsense to adults, but a thrill to the children who were there to see it. This sentiment was the greatest asset to the franchise in its early years. Kids were the first experts on the subject. Pokémon and were on the “ground floor,” if you will. This was something completely new and unfiltered by the tastes or expectations of series previous, so parents didn’t know how to adapt. Pokémon They had no reference or comparison to assist them. It was up to the kids to find it. All.

Nearly every single month of 1998 Nintendo Power ran a new feature about Pokémon Games, including articles on its effect on the Game Boy’s resurgence, explanations about the appeal of it, and six mini magazines that guided you through sections of the game. This was a great way to build buzz about the game, but it wasn’t the best for you. Nintendo Power staff. Their score for the final review was 7.2 out 10 Not bad, but also a far cry from the “this is the second coming” treatment that they’d seemingly been preparing for. Other publications also made predictions for the anime before its debut. Brandweek As did the extensive marketing efforts that Nintendo had been undertaking. Advertising Age, which marveled at the more than $10 million spent on Nintendo of America’s push to make Pokémon The show was a huge success but he also reminded readers that it included all the seizures. It was The Wall Street Journal, starting their piece with “Godzilla, shmodzilla,” mainly focused on the toy potential and, yes, the seizures.

These are the main points: The animation show is a huge success and Nintendo of America has been spending lots of money. Luckily, the negative press around the upcoming franchise would soften, mainly due to Nintendo’s push to make it look as wholesome and exciting as possible. How do you achieve that? Use wordplay.

On August 27, 1998, a month before the anime’s official release, Nintendo held a special “ToPikachu” event in Topeka, Kansas, a city chosen because it was in the center of the US. As part of the event, the city officially renamed itself “ToPikachu,” a change that tragically only lasted a day, and more than 2,500 lucky kids got the chance to play the games, watch some of the upcoming anime, and nab some t-shirts. “Pokémon ‘Pretty Neat’” read the front page of the Topeka Capital JournalHere is a photo of a seven year-old holding a giant Pikachu doll.

CJOnline via YouTube

Seven hundred Pikachu plush were dropped from the air, along with ten skydivers who landed and drove away in the Pikachu-themed PokéCars. Then kids rushed into the field to claim the dolls—a mad display of energy for a product that hadn’t technically been introduced en masse yet. “They came. They came. They sold,” continued the article, but to kids, it was extremely reasonable. It’s Pokémon, remember? Gotta catch ’em all.

These games were renamed Pokémon: Red VersionAnd Pokémon: Blue VersionUse the Japanese updates Blueversion while keeping the Japanese groupings for monsters RedAnd Green, respectively. Hiro Nakamura was instrumental in the name change and the color changes. PokémonDifferent markets performed very well. “It was his kind of experimenting with peopleAnd understanding that blue is the most popular color in America and that starting with Red and BlueIt would be better to start with RedAnd Green. It wouldn’t matter in the triangulation of water-fire-plant which two led,” Tilden said of Nakamura’s work.

Of course, everyone knows that fire and water don’t mix, like, at all. The games capitalized on this dynamic and placed Charizard (the last evolutionary stage of flame-tailed Charmander) on the cover. RedBlastoise and, which is the last evolutionary stage in the evolution of the little turtle Squirtle on the cover Blue. Children would trade among themselves and instantly grasp the nature of competition. “Which one did you get? RedOder Blue?” would be the prime opening line for elementary school cafeteria arguments for months and years to come. Technically, there was no better choice than one, despite the natural tension and rivalry. This theme continues throughout the entire series. “The unique nature of the sheer size and variety of Pokémon,” Bush said of the games, “means you can have your own special blend and your favorites. And nobody’s was better or worse than another, just different. There was identity in that.”

Finally, it was time. The anime was set to premiere on September 8, a strategic placement that would hopefully entice even more kids—okay, their parents—to go out and buy the games, which were following on the twenty-eighth. But, we have just one other player before we dive into the shockwave. PokémonThey have been unleashed in millions of American homes. They’re well known to Pokémon fans, some of whom remember them with childhood nostalgia, while others wish that they’d done things differently in their efforts to help make Pokémon as massive as possible.

They’re 4Kids.

Monster Mashed

Before the release of Game Boy, two different ads were running almost every day on TV. The first was fairly chaotic, featuring a bus driver inviting a bunch of Pokémon on board, including a Pikachu, who greets him with a friendly “Pikachu!”, to which the driver drolly and hilariously responds, “Yeah, whatever.” It’s all a ruse, however, and the driver hauls the Pokémon to a factory where the bus is crushed with the creatures visibly panicking inside. After the vehicle has been destroyed, the driver turns it into a Game Boy and enjoys playing, without thinking about the many crimes he may have committed.

This commercial featured two young boys, one of whom was gentler. PokémonApartment buildings are separated by an alleyway. Seeing that their owners are frustrated by their inability to catch the monsters found in the opposing game cartridge, their Pokémon pals leap to the rescue! Led by Pikachu, who, of course, was already anointed as the Monster Team Captain for the franchise’s American reveal, the Pokémon escape the confines of their Game Boys and toss a link cable between the apartments. Then a handful of monsters make the precarious tightrope walk from one boy’s Game Boy to the other, effectively echoing the image Satoshi Tajiri had had in his head of bugs crawling across a wire almost a decade prior.

This was the perfect encapsulation of the franchise—and remains so to this day. In the midst of all this marketing madness created not only to attract American consumers but also to overwhelm pop cultural with Pokémon’sIn the midst of urban cold and chaos, friendly monsters from a fantasy world came to life to make strangers feel more connected. It is up to the viewer whether it’s more of a capitalistic re-creation of nostalgic connection or humane bond formed by benign beings of supernatural biology. The commercial, however, is Pokémon.

The book Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them AllDaniel Dockery. Running Press (part of Hachette Book Group’s Perseus Division) has permission to reproduce this text. Copyright © 2022 Daniel Dockery.

Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All

These prices were correct at the time of publication.

“The definitive, behind-the-scenes look at why Pokémon’s evolution from a single Japanese video game to global powerhouse captured the world’s attention, and how the ‘gotta catch ‘em all’ mentality of its fanbase shaped pop culture—and continues to do so today.”