One of the biggest video gaming franchises Librarians will encounter (and possibly the most important of all video game IPs for libraries) is the Pokemon franchise. With two “new” games being released (HeartGold/SoulSilver) in March 2010, librarians should be prepared.

First first FIRST thing you need to know: the word “Pokemon” can either refer to the creatures in the game, the game franchise, or a game itself. Only context determines what it means.

Pokemon 101: understanding the basics of Pokemon!

What does Pokemon have to do with schools/libraries? This is a question I got from a (kinda irate) first-year teacher, right in front of a class full of kids in the middle of a library presentation I was giving them. More specifically, it was, “what does this have to do with summer reading?!“. Well, here are some ways they relate!

  • Pokemon has an extensive map structure. If you are teaching map skills, I’m sure it will be difficult to find a map-skills exercise with the depth and diversity of the maps that the kids are going home to play with for recreation in this game.
  • The “Pokedex” is a database (aka library) of Pokemon and Pokemon statistics within the game. Inside the Pokedex framework, kids are: analyzing various types of numerical and other data, building their decision making skills  as they plan future choices based on the relationships Pokemon have with each other and the map, building real-life teamwork skills as they try to complete their Pokedex with the help of friends who own the game.
  • More on the Pokedex: Wikipedia describes the Pokedex as “device designed to catalog and provide information” and “a portable reference tool“. Kids already have libraries in their video games, and are acting like little librarians…for fun!
  • The main Pokemon releases (which we will get to) are playable fantasy fiction stories with you as the main character. Video games are a new media, and as such, traditional fiction genre forms for other media have reached games.
  • The best resource for Pokemon players is Bulbapedia, which is an online Pokemon encyclopedia wiki with close to 16 thousand articles. If such a large body of information exists around Pokemon (and, since it is a wiki, it was written by the players of the game) it seems that there is a large amount of information flowing between players. That’s what schools and libraries are all about, communication and a flow of information!
  • Making connections to students and library users is difficult. Catching their attention is one thing, and keeping their attention is another even more difficult thing. Pokemon will not only get their attention (tell them you caught a Giratina), it will keep it (building lesson plans and programming around the Pokemon environment is ripe with ideas).

What are the Pokemon games? There is confusion that surrounds what constitutes a Pokegame. For a video game to be considered a true Pokemon release, step one is it HAS to be released for a handheld system (Gameboy, GBA, DS…). Everything else is related material with a Pokemon logo on it, but not part of what we would consider the Pokecanon. And, to make things more confusing, Pokemon has three canons: the game canon, the anime (cartoon) canon, and the manga (book) canon. We are only dealing with the video game canon.

The canon has 4 generations, and a “generation” is the story that is being told within the game. In the canon, the “generations” are not chronological:

In 1998 Pokemon Red & Blue came out (in the USA) for Gameboy. Later, Pokemon Yellow was released. These games are all “the same”, in that they share a majority of content with each other and tell the same basic story. This is the way all the of generation releases have been handled so far. The Game Boy Advance games Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen, remakes of Red & Blue, are considered Generation I even though they are based on the Generation III Game Boy Advance technology and gameplay.

Generation II consisted of Pokemon Gold & Silver, and later Crystal, released for the Game Boy Color. In March, the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes will be released for the Nintendo DS.

Generation III are Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire, and later Emerald, all released for Game Boy Advance.

Generation IV is the current generation, which includes Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, followed by Platinum.

What are “Pokemon”? “Pokemon” are the little creatures in the Pokemon games. Think little bugs or snails. The player controls a “Pokemon trainer” who collects, trains, and takes care of the Pokemon s/he catches.

Isn’t Pokemon for kids? Yes, the franchise has been steered towards the “kid” demographic. The main releases do have many heavy narrative themes, in-depth statistical choices (via the Pokedex), long game-play hours, and a far fictional reach, so adults and especially teens play these games too. Because it is a “kid” game, non-players judge adults who play Pokemon, but after a proper understanding of the depth of the game, it is less embarrassing (LOL).

And the rest…

Pokemon’s influence on pop-culture doesn’t need to be brought up here. I’m going out on a limb here, but I don’t think there was anything more epic in pop-culture created in the 90s than Pokemon. Grunge-rock, the Lewinsky Scandal, and Seinfeld all pale in comparison to the far-reachingness of Pokemon and its continued influence on society.

Whew anyway hope this helps. This is obviously not everything pokerelated, so i’ll write a Pokemon 102 article some day.

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OH wait one more thing! I might be the biggest Pokefan librarian in the USA! I’ve CAUGHT every single Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex! And I have a Darkrai and Arceus!