In The Know: Pokemon

“Pokemon,”  short for “pocket monsters,” was launched in Japan on Feb. 27, 1996, as a video game for Game Boy, a handheld gaming device developed by Nintendo.  It became an animated TV series the following year in Japan and was released in North America in 1998.

The videogame traces the adventures of Ash Ketchum who dreams of becoming the best Pokemon trainer in the world by catching and collecting various virtual pocket pets that he trains to battle other Pokémon.

The battle concept was virtually realized when Pokemon Company International released Pokemon Go, an augmented reality mobile app game, on July 6 this year in the United States, Australia and New Zealand for its 20th anniversary. It was released in the Philippines a month after.

Pokemon Go, which can be downloaded free from Apple Store for iPhone devices or Google Play for android smartphones, engages players to search for and capture as many Pokemon as they can in their surroundings using their smartphone’s internet connection and global positioning system.

Players achieve higher levels in the game as they complete the 133 kinds of Pokemon in their Pokedex, a catalogue of collected Pokemon, and after winning battles against the Pokémon of other players.

(Sources: pokemon20.com, pokemon.com and forbes.com)