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00:08Welcome to MojoPlays and today we're taking a look at 25 things you may not
00:13have known about Pokemon. Keep in mind though, we're focusing on the video game
00:18side of the franchise, not the anime, not the trading card game, not even the toys.
00:22Just the video games.
00:37Before we begin, we publish new videos all week long, so be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays
00:42and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
00:55To some, Pokemon may seem like an idea that was born from a marketing team. It could be
01:00the case for some products built on collecting all the things, but Pokemon's inception is
01:06more wholesome than that.
01:07Series creator Satoshi Tajiri came up with the idea after he first saw the Game Boy, wondering
01:13how two Game Boys would be able to communicate through various means. He then thought about
01:17using a cable as a means for bugs to travel between the two. Nintendo wasn't entirely
01:22sure if the idea was going to pan out, but decided to support the project with Miyamoto
01:27taking Tajiri under his wing.
01:35The Mythical Gorochoo
01:43Every Pokemon fan knows Pikachu's different evolutions. At first, it was just Pikachu turning
01:49into Raichu, and then Pichu was introduced in the second generation as the pre-evolution
01:54for Pikachu. However, there was supposed to be another evolution beyond Raichu. In an interview
01:59with Japanese news outlet's Yomiuri, designer Ken Sugimori revealed that Raichu was supposed
02:05to evolve into a pocket monster named Gorochoo. According to Sugimori, there were some issues
02:12in-game balance that led to Gorochoo getting cut from red and blue.
02:21The First Pokemon
02:28Who would you think was the first Pokemon to ever be created? Most people would probably
02:32think Pikachu, given he is the official mascot of the franchise. Others may even believe it
02:38was Eevee, given its simplistic design and different ways to evolve. On the contrary,
02:43the very first Pokemon ever designed was Rhydon, the evolved form of Rhyhorn. Lapras was created
02:50soon after, but as to when Rhyhorn came about to be Rhydon's pre-evolution, we may never know.
02:57Mew, the Joke Pokemon
02:59It's almost hard to believe that Mew was never planned to be a part of Pokemon, let alone become
03:04a legendary one. Really, Mew didn't make it into Pokemon Red and Blue until the very end of
03:09development, just before cartridges were about to be made. Game Freak had filled up as much storage
03:15as possible in their final build, enough to where Mew wouldn't have had enough room to be properly
03:20programmed into the game. It wasn't until all debugging was finished when they suddenly had
03:25just enough space to throw Mew in, and they did it without Nintendo even knowing about its existence.
03:32Once Nintendo found out, they leaned into its rarity and threw together a promotional event
03:37where only a few players got to obtain Mew. The rarest Pokemon?
03:48Even after a limited promotion like that, Mew is not the rarest Pokemon to ever exist,
03:53nor was it the hardest to obtain. No, that honor, or dishonor depending on who you ask,
03:59belongs to Celebi. To market Pokemon Gold and Silver, Nintendo held a special promotional event
04:05where players could obtain Celebi, similar to how Mew was handled. But there was one catch.
04:11You had to be one of 100,000 names chosen from a lottery. Because of this, Celebi became the rarest
04:19Pokemon to ever be put in the games. Until people started getting their hands on action replays and
04:25all that other external hardware to manipulate their games. Musical Evolution
04:37One of the most notable improvements seen in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire was the shift in music.
04:44Before the Game Boy Advance, many Game Boy games featured music that you'd expect on an NES,
04:49composed of the basic chiptune sounds. But thanks to the GBA's advancements, handheld games took a
04:55massive leap forward in boasting music, featuring more prominent instruments. This allowed Junichi
05:01Masuda to incorporate more brass and piano notes for Ruby and Sapphire's music, which in turn set the
05:08foundation for what Pokemon music should sound like. What's in a name?
05:23During its development, Pokemon went through several name changes, more than most video games typically
05:28go through. For quite some time, the team was focused on calling it Capsule Monsters. Other titles thrown
05:34around were names like Kapuman or Kapuman with a K, but the idea of calling the creatures Capsule
05:41Monsters kept leading them to trademark issues. One such issue stemmed from the Capsule Monster
05:46creatures seen in the Ultraman TV show. Though oddly enough, Yu-Gi-Oh! featured a game called Capsule
05:52Monsters during its early years as a manga. Regardless, the name was soon settled on Pocket Monsters.
06:00EXPRESSIVE PROGRAMMING
06:08Look, we give Pokemon Scarlet and Violet a lot of trouble for being a technical mess on the original
06:13Nintendo Switch. Despite what some may want to believe, there is some impressive work on display
06:19regardless of which Switch console you play on, specifically in the audio. The team at Game Freak
06:24actually went and developed an entire program to assist in creating new Pokemon. This program,
06:30called PokeSynth, was made to help them create new cries for the different monsters they were
06:35putting into the game. And indeed, they do sound more like real animals than the original 151 have
06:43over the last few decades.
06:53The birth of bartering.
07:02Earlier, we mentioned how Tajiri thought about how players could trade bugs between two different
07:07Game Boy consoles. But that isn't where the idea of trading creatures came from. The idea of trading
07:12items between players stemmed from an experience Tajiri had while playing Dragon Quest II alongside
07:18Sugimori. Whereas Sugimori had been able to obtain two powerful weapons in the game, Tajiri was having
07:24trouble getting any enemy to drop the weapon, and it made him wish Sugimori could just hand him his extra.
07:31That experience is what prompted Tajiri to figure out how to get trading to work. It wasn't possible on
07:36Famicom, but on Game Boy, it worked beautifully. So long as you had a cable.
07:42The Orb of Art.
07:51The Pokeball is almost a stunning work of art in itself. We're not just talking about the different designs the
07:57ball has seen throughout the years either. No, that basic red and white sphere has become a major
08:03gaming icon for its simplicity and significant utility. But its inspiration comes from an unlikely
08:09source. It wasn't inspired by a pair of earrings or some precious jewel, not even some random bug Tajiri
08:16nabbed when he was a kid. No, it was inspired by Andy Warhol's painting of the Camp Bell's soup can.
08:23The Space World 97 demo
08:32If you know anything about game development, you would know that the games rarely ever come out looking
08:38exactly as they did while they were in the oven. Pokemon Gold and Silver is a prime example of that,
08:43and all you
08:43need to see that is to look at the demo made for Space World 97. Space World used to be
08:48Nintendo's own trade show, meant to demonstrate their own products. The build they used to exhibit
08:54Pokemon Gold and Silver contained a lot of Pokemon that were not seen in the final build. This was
08:59likely done to keep the new designs a secret until launch, especially when you consider how basic
09:04most of them seen.
09:14How New Generations Form
09:23Over the years we've seen many, many, many new Pokemon across every new mainline game. Some have become fan
09:30favorites, while others are scrutinized for being just too weird. This may be hard to believe, but there is
09:36logic behind every design. Game Freak bases Pokemon on a lot of the team's own experiences, whether it be from
09:43company trips to zoos, or even their own individual hobbies and interests. Remember, Pokemon itself was conceived
09:50because of Tajiri's own hobby, bug catching. So is it really that blasphemous to see sentient ice cream or a
09:57living keychain?
09:59Accessible Battling
10:10Prior to Pokemon Black and White, each game had a very standard UI during battles. Each game had simple text
10:17boxes
10:17with a colored outline to help select actions. For much younger players who were still learning how to read, this
10:23was
10:23probably just a little bit much. To assist those developing their minds, Game Freak approached UI a little bit differently
10:31with Black and White. This was the first time in the series where actions in combat would be color coded
10:36to help
10:37younger players understand what each button executed. So next time you play, try studying the menu and see if the
10:43colors
10:44make sense for which action they perform.
10:53The Party That Never Was
11:01Much like other video games, Pokemon has seen several projects get canned throughout its lifespan, though very few are ever
11:08known to the public.
11:09One such title that folks did get a glimpse of was something called Meowth's Party. This was a game seen
11:15during
11:16Space World 2000 and was meant to show folks the graphical fidelity of the GameCube, but the small bit we
11:22saw of it
11:23never evolved beyond the demo. It was instead reused as an end credit sequence for the Pokemon anime before
11:30eventually making its way into Pokemon Channel within the Pichu Brothers in Party Panic sequence.
11:42Super Cat Scratch Brothers
11:44Speaking of Meowth, the blinged out cat Pokemon has appeared in every Super Smash Brothers game since 1999. Given his
11:52significance
11:52in the anime, one would think he would have been included in Smash Brothers as a playable character at some
11:58point, right?
11:58Well, he came close. Or so some believe. Rumor has it that Meowth was supposed to be included in the
12:06original Smash Brothers
12:07before he was cut due to time constraints. However, Smash Brothers creator Masahiro Sakurai has never confirmed or denied this
12:16rumor.
12:16He has spoken about other Nintendo characters, but never Meowth. So how this rumor cropped up, we may never know.
12:23Ultimate Lifeform Brothers
12:33While we're on the subject of Smash, there is another pocket monster that is popular between Smash and Pokemon fans.
12:39Many of us remember the day we finally unlocked Mewtwo in Super Smash Brothers Melee, but what some may not
12:45know is that he was planned to be included in the very first game.
12:49And this was no rumor either. Thanks to various pieces of info gathered and translated by Source Gaming, it's been
12:55confirmed that Mewtwo was considered for the roster only to be cut for unknown reasons.
13:00Could be time constraints, could be technical limitations, who knows. As to why he wasn't brought back for Brawl, we
13:08have yet to get an answer for that.
13:17Not a totally useless channel.
13:27We briefly mentioned Pokemon Channel a couple entries ago, one of the most notorious spinoffs in the entire franchise.
13:34This game was widely hated for being a glorified $50 collection of episodes from the show.
13:41Despite what some will say, Pokemon Channel did have a purpose. Somewhat.
13:47The game was developed as a means to promote the E-Reader, a peripheral that had players scan cards on
13:52their Game Boy Advance for additional games or even in-game items.
13:56In the case of Pokemon Channel, the game included three E-Reader cards that you could use for the Smeargle's
14:02Art Study minigame.
14:03Assuming you had already bought the E-Reader, of course, on top of the cable that connects the GBA to
14:09the GameCube.
14:10Which, you know, most people didn't have either.
14:14Shaping the Colosseum.
14:23To this day, Pokemon Colosseum remains to be one of the most ambitious games ever seen in the franchise.
14:30There was a captivating world to explore and an exhilarating story to experience while battling in a way similar to
14:36Pokemon Stadium.
14:37But if some elements of the game felt familiar to you, such as the design of the world, they probably
14:43should.
14:44During development, Genius Sonority took inspiration from two specific RPGs.
14:50Those being Persona 2 and Final Fantasy 7.
14:54Pokemon Colosseum was the very first game the studio ever developed.
14:57And from there, Genius Sonority would work on Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness.
15:02As well as Pokemon Troze, Pokemon Battle Revolution, and Pokemon Cafe Remix.
15:14GBA Trading Gimmicks.
15:23GBA Trading Pokemon with friends can be tricky if you've all been playing different generations.
15:27The system was never meant to be universal, and it was difficult to make it that way when consoles were
15:32constantly being made with different hardware, specs, and so on.
15:36But there was a glimmer where you could trade between two completely different generations.
15:40During the GBA days, Ruby and Sapphire players could trade Pokemon with FireRed and LeafGreen players.
15:47The reason this was even possible in the first place was because FireRed and LeafGreen were made on a slightly
15:53modified version of Ruby and Sapphire's engine.
15:56Now, if only more of us were carrying Link cables at the time.
16:00What's in a name, too?
16:01The Namening.
16:12Figuring out the name for Pokemon as a whole wouldn't be the last time Tajiri and Game Freak would run
16:17into trouble with names.
16:18Prior to the 3DS's inception, Game Freak would often have different names for Pokemon according to different languages.
16:25For example, Jigglypuff is called Purrin in Japan for its squishy and soft appearance, Purrin being the word for custard
16:33in Japanese.
16:33But for Pokemon X and Y, Game Freak wanted every creature's name to be the same across every region and
16:41every language.
16:42This became a colossal task more than expected, as it meant every name had to comply with various copyright laws
16:49while still fitting their designs and themes.
17:01Translation Error
17:09Even after all the litigiousness and wrestling around with naming conventions, Pokemon Red and Blue still holds the title of
17:16being the most tumultuous to develop in the franchise's history.
17:20At least judging from all the information we know about the franchise currently.
17:23The original pair of games went through a massive bump in the road when getting them prepared for international release.
17:30The team found it impossible to simply translate all of the text and call it a day.
17:35The source code simply did not support that.
17:37What ended up happening was that Game Freak had to reprogram the entire game from scratch while also translating the
17:45text to English.
17:46This tacked on more development time than what was originally anticipated.
17:50The fairy-type tale of Pokemon Snap
17:54Welcome back!
17:58Pokemon Snap really feels like it was a simple flash in the pan for Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
18:03Really, who would have thought people wanted a photography game set in the world of Pokemon?
18:08But this N64 gem has a strange origin.
18:12Initially, this wasn't even supposed to be a Pokemon game.
18:16Instead, it was going to be based on the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk.
18:20Two reasons for why this pivot was made.
18:23One, the project was not testing well behind the scenes.
18:26And two, Pokemon Red and Blue was seeing promising success already.
18:31No footage or screenshots can be found of the Jack and the Beanstalk version as the project was announced as
18:36Pokemon Snap at Space World 97.
18:39The hidden prequel of Pokemon Stadium
18:50Perhaps the biggest Pokemon game on N64 was Pokemon Stadium.
18:55Between the gym battles, the multiplayer battles, and the minigames, there was a ton to love about this classic, and
19:01it still resonates with many players today.
19:03But the version we grew up with here in North America?
19:07Well, that was the second game technically.
19:10Japanese audiences got the first game, Pocket Monster Stadium.
19:14And according to critics over there, there wasn't much reason to buy it.
19:18Sure, it was a technical marvel at the time, but many took umbrage with the lack of game modes.
19:23In this version, you could only take part in tournaments or take pictures of your Pokemon and view them in
19:28the Pokedex.
19:29Basically, the Pokemon Stadium we got here in North America became their sequel.
19:44Let's go... Psyduck?
19:57Poor Psyduck has never gotten a chance in the spotlight.
20:00Most of the time, he's just filling the role of the clumsy goofball in both the anime and the games.
20:05But there was a moment where he could have had his time in the sun.
20:09During its development, the Pokemon Let's Go games were going to feature a very different pairing of mascots.
20:15Pikachu and Psyduck.
20:17Unfortunately, two issues arose from Psyduck's inclusion.
20:21For starters, slapping him on the game's cover would have clashed with Pikachu's colors
20:26and make it very easy for potential buyers to mistake one game for another.
20:30Looking at you, unknowing parents who buy random games for your kids.
20:33Secondly, Eevee was already popular with the masses.
20:37And so, it didn't take long for Psyduck to get shoved back into the shadows.
20:53BORN TO FAIL, LIVED TO SUCCEED
21:01In the modern day, Pokemon continues to be a global phenomenon that only seems to keep getting bigger by the
21:07minute.
21:07With all of the merchandise, the parks, the shops, spinoffs, movies, and shows,
21:13one would think that Nintendo and Game Freak knew this was going to pop off from the very beginning.
21:18Sadly, it was quite the opposite.
21:21Back in 1996, Nintendo actually anticipated the game to not perform super well in sales.
21:27Development was rather extensive compared to other Game Boy games at the time,
21:31and the concept of catching monsters in an RPG was too abstract to predict how audiences would react to it.
21:38Pokemon Red, Green, and Blue sold more than 10 million copies in Japan,
21:44and would become the best-selling video game ever released in the country until November 2022,
21:49when it was surpassed by Animal Crossing New Horizons.
21:54Which of these Pokemon facts surprised you the most?
21:57Let us know down in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe to MojoPlays.
22:01We'll see you next time.
22:04So, I'll see you next time.
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