{"id":104338,"date":"2022-10-22T01:51:08","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T01:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pokemon-was-introduced-to-the-us-in-the-most-bonkers-way-possible\/"},"modified":"2022-10-22T01:51:08","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T01:51:08","slug":"pokemon-was-introduced-to-the-us-in-the-most-bonkers-way-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pokemon-was-introduced-to-the-us-in-the-most-bonkers-way-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon was introduced to the US in the most bonkers way possible"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pok\u00e9mon 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 \u2014 from plushies to Happy Meal collectibles. the newest games, Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and violet<\/em>, are just around the corner, set to launch on Nov. 18.<\/p>\n

But it wasn’t always that way. Pok\u00e9mon debuted in Japan in 1996, and though the anime and video games were wildly successful overseas, its continued success in the US wasn’t always a guarantee; and there were even years when it seemed the franchise might not even survive. <\/p>\n

Daniel Dockery’s Monster Kids: How Pok\u00e9mon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All<\/em> <\/em>digs into Pok\u00e9mon’s illustrious history, from the creator Satoshi Tajiri’s inspirations to Pok\u00e9mon’s overwhelming global popularity. The franchise’s success in the US owes a lot to its localization, which included English names and catchphrases, along with wild publicity stunts \u2014 including a day in which Topeka, Kansas, was renamed \u201cToPikachu,\u201d and planes dropped hundreds of Pikachu stuffed toys from the sky.<\/p>\n

Here’s an exclusive excerpt that goes into detail about that fateful day, along with the lesser-known history of Pok\u00e9mon’s English-language debut and the wild media blitz that introduced Pikachu to Americans.<\/p>\n

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Image: Running Press\/Hachette Book Group<\/cite><\/p>\n

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\u201cGotta Catch ‘Em All. Gotta Catch ‘Em All.” <\/p>\n

Invented for the English language Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>debut, this phrase was eventually slapped onto nearly everything related to Pok\u00e9mon outside of Japan and was repeated frequently during the A Sneak Peek at Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>promotional 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 . . . enough. All they needed to know was that it was best to have all <\/em>of them. <\/p>\n

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