Pokémon (franchise)


 * This article is about Nintendo's franchise Pokémon. For other uses, see Pokémon (Other uses)

Pokémon is the name of a series of video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Although several spinoffs for other Nintendo systems have been released, such as Pokemon Puzzle League, the main series usually takes place on the handheld Game Boy platform, for which 10 games have been released, and an eleventh, Pokemon Emerald, announced.

The games all center around the strategic manipulation of creatures called Pokémon, from which the series takes its name. In the games, the player takes the roll of male or female human whos just recieved a license to catch Pokémon. Pokémon can be caught using by weakening them with other Pokémon, and then absorbing them into a Poké Ball, where they can be stored for future use, to battle and catch more Pokémon. Currently, there is over 300 known Pokémon, with more being avaliable for catching with the release of each Pokémon era.

Eras
The games are generally released in "eras". For example, two games will be immediantly released that are basically the same, except with several changes, and later, another improvement upon the last two games will be released. After this, work will begin on a new era, which will have a vastly different story and various gameplay improvements. Examples of this are Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, which are generally the same game, except certain Pokémon can only be obtained in either one. Shortly after the release of Pokémon Red and Blue, an improvement on these games was released; Pokémon Yellow, which featured improved color, and the addition of a Pikachu which followed the main character.

List of eras

 * Monochrome era (Game Boy)
 * Pokémon Red
 * Pokémon Blue
 * Pokémon Yellow
 * Metallic era (Game Boy Color)
 * Pokémon Gold
 * Pokémon Silver
 * Pokémon Crystal
 * Gem era (Game Boy Advance)
 * Pokémon Ruby
 * Pokémon Sapphire
 * Pokémon Emerald
 * New monochrome era (Game Boy Advance)
 * Pokémon FireRed
 * Pokémon LeafGreen
 * No expansion announced.