Forever Ago: Who invented Pokemon?

Brains On! Science podcast for kids

This episode of 'Forever Ago' explores the origins of Pokémon, tracing its creation back to Satoshi Tajiri, a Japanese boy who loved collect

Key takeaways

• Pokémon was inspired by real-life bug hunting, showing how childhood hobbies can spark global phenomena.
• Satoshi Tajiri's love for nature and insects led to the idea of capturing creatures in a digital world.

Main topics

• Origins of Pokémon
• Satoshi Tajiri's childhood bug collecting

Notable quotes

Pokémon started as a wild idea that almost flopped.

Satoshi realized beetles like to sleep under rocks during the day. So he left a rock out and came back the next morning.

Conclusion

Pokémon began as a simple idea rooted in nature and childhood curiosit

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:00) Lemonada Speaker 5 (0:08) Today's episode is sponsored by Great Wolf Lodge. At Great Wolf Lodge, there's adventure for the whole family. You and your pack can splash away in the indoor water park where it's always 84 degrees. There's a massive wave pool, a lazy river, and tons of water slides for your pack to enjoy together. And the fun doesn't stop there. Get ready to explore and play at adventure-packed attractions from MagiQuest, a live-action game that takes place throughout the lodge to the Northern Lights Arcade. There's also a bunch of great dining options and complimentary daily events like nightly dance parties all under one roof. And the best part? With 22 lodges across the country, you're always only a short drive away from adventure. So bring your pack together at a lodge near you. Book your stay at greatwolf.com and strengthen the pack. Speaker 7 (0:58) Brains on Universe. Speaker 5 (1:01) Hi, friends. I'm super excited to let you know that our pals at Forever Ago just started a brand new season. Host of Forever Ago, Joy Dolo, is going to dive into all sorts of cool history this season, including trick-or-treating, the Wizard of Oz, and pizza, just to name a few topics. The season kicked off with an episode all about how Pokemon was invented. It is so cool, and we want to share it with you right now. And if you're a hoax head, the Hoax Hunters have a bonus Pokemon episode in our SmartyPass feed. It's almost too good to be true. But guess what? It is true. We'll be back next week with an episode about the sun and vitamin D. Until then, enjoy this episode of Forever Ago. Speaker 6 (1:45) Okay, according to my map, this is where we find it. Are Speaker 3 (1:50) you sure? The library doesn't seem like the kind of place a wild creature would be hiding. Well, Speaker 6 (1:55) first off, we're not hunting a wild creature. We're hunting histamons, adorable monsters that love history. And second, this histamon loves archives. Oh, Speaker 3 (2:07) that's why we're in the archive section of the library. Exactly! Speaker 6 (2:12) Archivalora feeds off of the information in old newspapers and magazines, much like I feed off of frozen mac and cheese dinners. So Speaker 3 (2:20) is a histomon like a Pokemon? Speaker 6 (2:23) Yeah, unless you are a copyright lawyer, in which case it is a distinctly different creation that bears no resemblance to a Pokemon whatsoever. Gotcha. What does this Archivalora creature look like? That's the thing. I have no idea. It could be like a little lizard or a giant sloth. It could be that kid over there picking her nose. Or that man behind the front desk giving us the stink eye. Speaker 7 (2:47) Shush. You two are being very loud for the library. Sorry. Speaker 6 (2:53) It's definitely not him. The best way to find this histomon is to set a trap. We lay out some old, important documents and wait for Archive Allura to come feast, much like me when I'm reheating my frozen mac and cheese dinner. Then we trap it with my histoball. Like Speaker 3 (3:10) a Pokeball. Speaker 6 (3:11) Yes, unless you work for Nintendo, in which case I have no idea what you're talking about because this is an original idea I had all by myself. Speaker 7 (3:17) Okay, Speaker 6 (3:18) for the trap, I've got some great archive-worthy newspapers. Like this one from the day humans first landed on the moon. Or this one from when America elected the first black president, Barack Obama. What's Speaker 3 (3:32) this one? Speaker 6 (3:33) Oh, that's coupons for frozen mac and cheese dinners. I'm really excited to go buy some after this. I Speaker 3 (3:38) can tell. Mac Speaker 6 (3:40) and cheese, the favorite dinner of history lovers everywhere. Wait, is that true? Well, I love history and I eat mac and cheese for dinner, so probably? Say, while we wait, should we talk about the history of Pokemon? You know, as an unrelated topic that has nothing to do with histomons? I was hoping you would ask. Perfect. Let's podcast about Pokemon. Gotta cast them all! Speaker 6 (4:09) This is Forever Ago, where we explore the before. I'm your host, Joy Dolo, and my partner for today's adventure is Romil from Speaker 7 (4:17) Needham, Massachusetts. Hi, Joy. Speaker 6 (4:20) Okay, today we're talking about Pokemon. Romil, do you like Pokemon? Speaker 3 (4:25) Oh, yeah. So Speaker 6 (4:26) how were you first introduced to Pokemon? Speaker 3 (4:27) I think I watched the TV shows. Speaker 6 (4:30) I used to watch the old Pokemon, like, back in the day when I was a kid, and there was this song that was, like, rocking. It was like, I'm gonna be the very best. Like, no one. Is that the one you're talking about? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's so cool. Do you have a favorite Pokemon? Speaker 3 (4:44) Oh, I have a top three. Like, they're not in any order of rank, but I like Gengar because he's, like, kind of cool and, like, creepy-ish. I like Charizard because he's also cool. And he's, like... Pokemon has mega evolutions and he has like two different ones. So that's cool. And then I like Eevee. I don't think Eevee is that good in a battle, but I like it because it has like a bunch of different evolutions. What does Speaker 6 (5:10) it look like? Speaker 3 (5:12) It kind of looks like, I mean, a dogish, catish thing. It has a big, like, fluffy tail. It looks kind of like an oval. Then it has like a head with pointy ears. It's cute, and then it has a ring of white fur around its neck, and it's the same color as the fur at the end of the tail. And then it has four little legs with paws on the ends. Oh, Speaker 6 (5:36) cute. Speaker 6 (5:45) This is a topic that lots of you were curious about. Speaker 7 (5:48) I'm Rowan. And I'm Finn. And we would like to hear an episode about the history of Pokemon. Hi, my name is Isla. I'm from Coventry in England, and I want to know what the history of Pokemon is. My Speaker 3 (6:02) name is Henry, and I'm from Greenville, Montana. And my question is, what is the history of Pokemon? Speaker 7 (6:10) Hi, my name is Amla. And I'm from New Jersey. And my question is, what's the history of Pokemon? Thanks, Rowan, Finn, Speaker 6 (6:19) Isla, Henry, and Ambrose for sending in your questions. So Speaker 3 (6:23) let's learn about Pokemon. Speaker 6 (6:27) Pokemon are powerful, cute monsters that fight each other. Speaker 3 (6:31) You know, like Pikachu, Squirtle, Snorlax. Speaker 6 (6:34) Bulbasaur, Charizard, your favorite. Or like Psyduck. Speaker 3 (6:38) Jigglypuff, Eevee, and Gengar are two more of my favorites. Speaker 6 (6:41) OJ, Broccoli, Chorizo. Oh wait, I was reading the list of foods I plan to eat with my frozen mac and cheese dinner. Whoops. Speaker 3 (6:49) Pokemon started as a video game, but today it's also in movies, TV shows, card games, and toys. Speaker 6 (6:55) And it's super popular. The Pokemon Company has sold over 500 million video games. They've Speaker 3 (7:02) made over 85 billion trading cards. And Pokemon Go, the game for smartphones, has been Speaker 6 (7:07) downloaded over a billion times. Speaker 6 (7:14) To help make sense of that, I choose you, StataSaurus, the histomon that loves to explain statistics. Speaker 2 (7:21) There are roughly 8 billion people alive on Earth today. 1 billion is about 1 eighth of the whole population of the planet. That means about 1 out of every 8 people in the world downloaded Pokemon Go. That's a lot of people. Statsaurus! Ouch! Thanks, Speaker 6 (7:47) Statsaurus! So today, Pokemon is a mega smash hit. But before all that, it was a wild idea that almost flopped. Let us tell the tale. Speaker 3 (7:59) It all began with a kid who loved playing outside. Speaker 6 (8:05) His name was Satoshi Tajiri. He grew up in Japan around 50 years ago. Speaker 3 (8:11) Back then, people had cars, electricity, and color TV. But no one really had computers at home yet, and video games were still super new. Speaker 6 (8:20) Satoshi lived in a neighborhood in Tokyo that was full of forests, streams, and rice fields. And Speaker 3 (8:26) there was nothing he loved more than going out in all that nature and finding bugs. Ooh, look Speaker 7 (8:33) at this one! It's got a hard shell. Oh, this one has shiny wings. Bugs are the best. Speaker 6 (8:44) Satoshi was obsessed. He'd