Pokémon (Japanese: ポケモン, Hepburn: Pokemon), shortened from Pocket Monster (Japanese: ポケットモンスター, Hepburn: Poketto Monsutaa), are a group of fantastical monsters who are the central focus and main feature of the Pokémon franchise. Pokémon are found all over the Pokémon World, and their habitat varies depending on the species, much like creatures in the real world. There are currently 1,025 documented species of Pokémon.

Description[]

Pokémon take from a wide variety of inspirations including animals, plants, mythological creatures, and objects. Rattata resembles a regular rat, while most others take more unusual forms, such as Exeggutor, which resembles a coconut tree with animal facial features and feet. Other Pokémon share no resemblance to any known animals, plants, or fungi, and a few even have machine-like forms, such as Registeel. Some Pokémon resemble humans, such as Mr. Mime and Jynx. The most powerful types of Pokémon are Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon, who are usually the subject of myths and urban legends within the Pokémon World.

Each Pokémon has an elemental type, which affects their attacks, abilities, and weaknesses. For example, Pikachu, being an Electric Pokémon, specializes in electrical attacks, which are effective against both Flying and Water Pokémon, but in turn are weak against Grass Pokémon and ineffective against Ground Pokémon. Each Pokémon has unique stats and characteristics. For example, Darkrai is very fast and strong but has mediocre defensive ability.

Certain Pokémon have their own evolutions, which are different Pokémon that they can evolve into once certain requirements have been met. For example, a Pichu can evolve into a Pikachu with high friendship, and a Pikachu can then later evolve into its final form, Raichu, with a Thunder Stone.

The relationship between a Pokémon and a human varies, depending on the species and personality. In the Pokémon World, several humans become Pokémon Trainers, who capture Pokémon using a Poké Ball to then keep them as a traditional pet or to have them engage in Pokémon battles. Several Pokémon Trainers go on a journey with the goal of capturing every known species of Pokémon, and they take a Pokédex with them to catalog each's Pokémon's data.

One unique way in which Pokémon are grouped is by generation. The Pokémon franchise started off with 151 Pokémon during the first generation. A generation usually begins when new Pokémon are introduced, such as when 100 Pokémon were introduced in the Generation II titles, Pokémon Gold Version and Pokémon Silver Version, raising the total number of Pokémon at the time to 251.

Life process[]

Normally, Pokémon will start their life from Pokémon Eggs through a breeding process, but some cannot be born through this method, such as Legendary Pokémon. After a Pokémon hatches from an egg, they become known as their “pre-evolved form”, with some cases also having them classified as Baby Pokémon. By having proper training from their Trainer, the Pokémon will receive experience points and level up. Upon reaching a certain level or happiness rating, or when given an Evolution Stone, or certain held items, most base-level Pokémon will metamorphose into an advanced new form, giving them a changed appearance and new abilities their previous form may not have possessed. This transition is called Evolution, despite having a much closer relation to metamorphosis than the biological concept of evolution by natural selection. In some cases, a single-type Pokémon can become a dual type from evolving, such as Charizard, a dual Fire/Flying type, unlike its pre-evolved forms, Charmander and Charmeleon, which are purely Fire-type. Some Pokémon lose a type from evolving, such as when Gloom, a Grass/Poison-type Pokémon, evolves into Bellossom, a pure Grass-type Pokémon.

Gender[]

Most Pokémon have one of two genders, determining whether the Pokémon is male or female. Some Pokémon have a greater chance of being one gender than another, such as Blastoise which has a 87.5% chance of being male, but only a 12.5% chance of being female. Some Pokémon can only be one gender, such as Froslass and Hitmontop, which are exclusively female and exclusively male respectively. There are also moves that will only work when Pokémon are certain genders, such as Attract which only works if the opponent is the opposite gender of the user.

In certain cases, some Pokémon are classified as genderless, such as most Legendary Pokémon and all Mythical Pokémon.

Appearances[]

Pokémon Conquest[]

In Pokémon Conquest, Warriors (the Trainers in the side-game) would link with Pokémon to catch them and would be restricted from linking with some due to types of the Pokémon itself or its evolved forms. They would also only be able to reach a specific link with the Pokémon. In a case where the link can reach 100%, that Pokémon is the Warrior's perfect link. Warriors and Pokémon would be in sync with each other during this time.

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