25 years of Pokémon! 10 facts about the anniversary [ Sweepstakes]

This article was created in cooperation with ak tronic.

Concentrated Poké-knowledge! In 25 years, a whole lot of monster facts come together, of which we list some particularly funny and interesting ones here. Some of them are probably already known to old hands, others might surprise even those who know the games, movies and series.

Anyway, great for everyone: the contest at the end of this article, where you can win one of three Pokémon merchandise packs!

A long-running hit with high numbers

Pokémon has been running as an anime series on television since 1997. In the meantime, almost 1,150 episodes have been broadcast over 23 seasons, plus over 20 films - and of course the numerous game adaptations! there are 122 games featuring the monsters, and they have sold a total of 368 million copies - only Super Mario and Tetris are more successful in the video game sector.

Best-selling double

The record for the best-selling Pokémon games is held by two classics: The red and blue Pokémon Editions laid the foundation for worldwide Pokémania on the Game Boy and have sold over 31 million copies to date. They are followed by the Silver and Gold Editions for Game Boy Color and Pokémon Sword & Shield for the Switch.

What is the most popular Pokémon?

Pikachu is probably the most popular Pokémon in the world, but is the yellow electric rodent also the most popular monster? Not necessarily: In 2020, The Pokémon Company asked fans to vote for their favorites in an online poll. With over 140,000 votes, the ninja frog Quajutsu took the title. And Pikachu? According to a summary by The Gamer, it doesn't even appear in the top 15 ..

In cooperation with ak tronic

Bring your favorite Pokémon home! ak tronic has a lot of merchandise with the Nintendo creatures on offer - no matter if you are a fan of the first monster generations or joined later, if you are looking for something to play with or to decorate, to give away or to keep yourself. From printed mugs to plush toys and figurines in a variety of sizes to Pokémon social games and interactive toys, Poké fans young and old alike will find what they're looking for.

Try your luck in our sweepstakes and win win one of three packages filled to the brim with Pokémon merchandise! To enter, just keep scrolling.

A memorable glitch

The early Pokémon games in particular are famous for their curious, useful, and sometimes creepy glitches, bugs, and programming errors, some of which have become downright myths. Perhaps the most famous glitch: the Pokémon MissingNo, which is basically data garbage and which you can encounter in the red and blue editions - but only if you have previously performed a certain sequence of actions, thus outwitting the game. An encounter with MissingNo can multiply items in your inventory to the maximum, but you shouldn't catch or trade it, as it can play mischief with your game files.

Powerful

Pokémon has come a long way in 25 years: the brand with the monsters is the biggest media franchise in the world - ahead of giants like Star Wars, Marvel or Harry Potter. Pokémon games, movies, comics, merchandise and more have generated more than 100 million US dollars in sales. Incidentally, the second most profitable brand is also a Japanese franchise: Hello Kitty (around 84 billion US dollars).

Forever young

A running gag of the anime series: Ash Ketchum, protagonist of the Pokémon anime, starts his adventure at the age of ten. 25 years and several seasons later, nothing has changed: Ash always remains ten years old in the new episodes - enviable!

The very first Pokémon

In the Pokémon encyclopedia called Pokédex, the place of the first Pokémon belongs to the plant-dinosaur Bisasam. Which was the first Pokémon ever designed is not so easy to determine. However, designer Ken Sugimori stated in an interview that Rizeros, Lapras and Piepi are among the first Pokémon ever conceived. Incidentally, the first Pokémon in the Pokémon world may be the god-monster Arceus, who created all life.

Crazy fossils

There are some curious facts in the Pokédex. Particularly bizarre are the entries on some fossil Pokémon from Pokémon Sword & Shield: in the editions there are several prehistoric monsters reconstructed by researchers, whose bones are obviously completely wrongly assembled. However, the Pokédex in the game is convinced: This is what the critters really looked like!

Polygon magazine rightly notes that the credibility of the Pokédex is not enhanced by such inconsistencies. In reality, of course, the whole thing is a side blow to real archaeology, which was not always right with its conclusions from excavations.

Spooned out!

Psycho Pokémon Kadabra always carries a spoon that it can bend with its mind - an allusion to the mentalist Uri Geller, who became world famous with precisely this trick. Geller didn't find it funny at all and sued Nintendo, which then even took a Pokémon game card with Kadabra off the market. It wasn't until 2020, a good 20 years later, that Geller withdrew the lawsuit and even apologized for the inconvenience on Twitter and in an interview with BR.

Pokémon for real?!

What would Pokémon actually look like in our reality? In part, probably just like the animals they're obviously based on, but in part maybe like the artist RJ Palmer has been imagining them in detailed drawings for a few years now. Looks interesting - we wouldn't necessarily want to meet many of his nightmarish creatures, though ..

Win a Pokémon merch package

Together with ak tronic, we are giving away 3×1 Pokémon merchandise pack with different content. Take part and get a chance to win one of the following prizes:

  • Package 1: Mug "Pikachu", plush figure "Pikachu", vinyl figure "Pikachu", board game "Guess the Trainer"
  • Package2: Plush figure "Glumanda", mug "Pokémon I Choose You", mug "Pikachu Face", mug "Pummeluff
  • Package 3: Plush figure "Pichu", Vinyl figure "Glumanda

To participate in the competition, all you have to do is fill out the form below and cross your fingers. If and what you win will be decided by chance.

The competition runs from April 19, 2021 until May 14, 2021 at 10:00 am.

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