The Untold Secrets of Pokémon’s Monster Mythology | Monstrum
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2023
- Don’t miss future episodes of Monstrum, subscribe! bit.ly/pbsstoried_sub
Pokémon are inspired by flora and fauna, science, religion, yokai and other supernatural beings. But the series is teeming with not just Japanese folklore, but versions of monsters from across the globe made cute with softened features.
For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive.
*****
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: to.pbs.org/DonateStoried
*****
Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor/Animator: Steven Simone
Editor/Animator: Jordyn Buckland
Illustrator: Evangeline Manou Estimable
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Music: APM Music
Consultants: Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt
Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
Follow us on Instagram:
/ monstrumpbs
----------------------------
Allison, Anne. Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination, University of California Press, 2006.
Alt, Matt. Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World. Crown, 2020.
Alt, Matt, and Yoda, Hiroko. Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Tuttle Publishing, 2013.
Asian Popular Culture: The Global (Dis)continuity, edited by Anthony Y. H. Fung, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013.
Bainbridge, Jason. “‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All!’: Pokémon, Cultural Practice and Object Networks.’” IAFOR Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2014, doi.org/10.22492/ijas.1.1.04.
Bollotta, Anthony. "Entertainment Perspectives: The Pokemon Phenomenon." Special Events Magazine, 2016.
Clements, Jonathan. Anime: A History, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
Drazen, Patrick. Anime Explosion!: The What? Why? and Wow! of Japanese Animation, Revised and Updated Edition, Stone Bridge Press, 2014.
Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press, 2015.
Haiven, Max. “Can Pikachu Save Fannie Mae?: Value, Finance and Imagination in the New Pokéconomy.” Cultural Studies (London, England), vol. 26, no. 4, 2012, pp. 516-41.
Sorensen, Sue. “Battle or Gratitude? Attitudes Conveyed to Children by Pokémon, Bakugan, and Magic Tree House Books.” Peace Research, vol. 41, no. 2, 2009, pp. 5-27.
Zsila, Ágnes, et al. “An Empirical Study on the Motivations Underlying Augmented Reality Games: The Case of Pokémon Go During and after Pokémon Fever.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 133, 2018, pp. 56-66.
When I was a kid, there were only 151 Pokémon to keep track of but now with over 1000+ in canon at this point, I got a bit mixed up. The Fakemon shown at 1:16, Pyorpse, is fan-made by ReallyDarkandWindie (and fooled me!) but that just goes to show you how monsters and folklore develop as living traditions!--Dr. Z
😅
They lost me at 251, personally. I played generations 3 and 4 too, but I'll be darned if I remember more than 5 or 6 of those, and maybe a couple dozen more on sight.
Totally feel you. "Who's that pokemon?" segment was so much easier back then 😁
Loool. That's funny, but glad that y'all thought that it was real at the same time lol
Pokémon unite Google play games Japan 😊🙂😃 🇯🇵
Absolutely dying over all the pronunciation in this episode.
Agree
ghetto sore rew bro
Hu-kah-sai as "Hokusai" is driving me bananas. I wish she got some tips from the host of Otherwords.
Yeah it's distractingly bad
@@LoraCogginsI didn't notice anything...guess you guys are all just geeks
My boomer, Mexican mom is not "geeky" in the slightest, so when Pokemon GO first came out and I had to explain to her why I was upgrading my phone " just to play a game" was hilarious. In any case, I was already an adult with my own money. She then got more curious about it and downloaded it herself to see if she could use it as motivation to walk outside more after work. Well wouldn't you know it, she became obsessed and ended up being perpetually a level ahead of me lol. We both even have the little badge for making it to level 40 before a certain date. This past week we took a trip to a concert, and part of our exploring downtown involved hatching as many eggs as we could and loading up on gifts from historical pokestops.
Aww, that’s so sweet! What a nice little hobby to share.
I play Pokemon Go with my boomer mom too!
My friend and her mom compete with each other on pokemon go too, its hilarious.
@Shelby Lynn it is. Totally confuses her coworkers that she's even aware of it lol
@ArtichokeHunter I love that this is a thing!
Golurk and Golett aren't based off banshees. Like Golem, they were based off golems as well! The crack and strap on its chest are a reference to the golem in the story The Golem of Prague. The golem in this story was also believed to be able to summon the spirits of the dead. Hence why Golurk is a Ghost type! And Beautifly isn't based off Mothra. Beautifly is supposed to be a type of swallowtail butterfly called the common yellow swallowtail. And its ability to pierce prey with its proboscis is based off a vampire moth (or the Calyptra genus).
Other inspirations for Pokémon that I love: Absol is based on the Bai Ze (白澤), whose name literally translates to "white marsh." Bai Ze is gifted with the ability to understand human speech and the knowledge on the forms and habits of 11,520 types of supernatural creatures in the world. In legend, Bai Ze shared its knowledge to the Yellow Emperor. People believe Dottler is based off a soccer/football, but it's not! Based off ladybug pupa and radome! A radome is a dome constructed of material transparent to radio waves and help protect antennas from weather and conceal antenna electronic equipment from view. So the name Dottler is a combination of both dot and the Doppler radar.
Yeah the beautiful thing also got me, there IS a pokemon based off mothra but it's Volcarona, not Beautifly
Came here to look for this comment.
Also note, the last "Pokémon" in the sequence wasn't an official Pokémon.
But super awesome Pokémon is getting their due on this channel!
volcarona is mothra
Thank you. As someone who’s favorite Pokémon IS Golurk, I was gonna correct them this same way.
I love that the canon origin for Monstrum is that little Dr. Z really loved Pokémon and is still finding a way to catch ‘em all.
Quite the evolution 😊
~_~
some novelties and pokemon "species" I don't like, for example most of the mega-evolutions (for example of: Garchomp, Altaria, Gyarados, Swampert, Beedrill and Slowbro) or the Gigamax effect. but sadly I know I can't do anything about it.
So, is she a psychic type or a ghost type?
Me too!!!
I love this view. We're in the same age bracket, so it's nice hearing a mutual love ingrained so early on and how that led to both her academia and outdoorsy life.
@@germanomagnonewhy? they’re incredibly unique
See that’s your guys problem you go based on reactionary impressions
If you aren’t feeling the design you decide it sucks in the first five seconds of looking at it
Maybe if you sit down with the design you get used to it you get to know it you get accustomed and more comfortable around it you would come around to it
Don’t be afraid to let it grow on you if you don’t like it at first
That’s what I did when I first saw greninja in a leak
It was in its hunched over pose and it wasn’t at all what I wanted or pictured
But I stuck with froakie anyway and I grew to absolutely loving greninja
Stop dismissing starters or any Pokémon just because they seem like bad designs at first
They aren’t bad designs they are just so different than what you are used to and what you expected you just need time to let them grow on you
It’s literally an allegory for preserving nature
The franchise is about being kind to and respecting nature
You guys hating on Pokémon and their designs literally goes against the themes and intent of the franchise
Never thought we’d see a Pokémon episode
My exact thought 😅
Me too, but we really shouldn't be that surprised.... I mean, It's Pokemon! >.>
Yokai watch is next!
And yet it is so fitting and amazing! Maybe there’s something a little monstrous about the biggest multimedia franchise on Earth too…
Same!
I was so confused when I saw the last example in 1:15 lol. It's called Pyorpse and it's actually a Fakemon, I wonder whether it was intentional.
lol yeah i was so confused like i have never seen that thing in my life
They pinned a comment clearing that up
I mean...she's pronouncing it "pokEEmon" so I wouldn't give them too much credit as far as their knowledge on the franchise.
I was just going to say the same thing haha. Had to rewind to see who that fakemon was
Bruh my head spun when I saw that lmao
I never expected a pokemon episode in Monstrum. But dang was it a cool surprise
Also, just a note, I've noticed a couple of inaccuracies in the little section at 1:07.
-That Pokemon asigned to Mothra is beautifly, they are not inspired by Mothra, they're regukar butterflys. But there's a different pokemon who is, it's named Volcarona.
-Same case with the banshee. Those are Golett and Golurk, they're based on Golems. Missdreavus, Hattena, and their evolutions are the actual banshees.
-The Kasha pokemon ain't even a real pokemon, that little guy was drawn by a fan.
Pop culture, there is , or was a pop culture degree at Bowling green SU in Ohio,
Imagine getting a degree in folklore and pop culture specializing in pokemon, lol
I personally digimon who are zoomorphic (greymon, Gabumon, Guilmon etc...) but unfortunately (for me) many of them are anthropomorphic like Patamon and Tailmon (Angemon and Angewomon 👎 / Pegasusmon and Nefertimon 👍)
basically for me it's like this: beastly, and animalistic 👍, Anthropomorphic 👎(also applies to the other "company monsters").
@@germanomagnone I'm also generally a fan of the more animal-like Pokemon designs myself. When I dislike an anthropomorphic one, it's usually because it's based on something _uniquely_ human, i.e. which couldn't (or wouldn't _necessarily)_ exist without some presence of human history. Designs like Hitmonlee/chan, Sawk/Throh, etc.
@@stefanjakubowski8222 there are degrees in gender studies so...
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme um, and many cultures have different gender systems, only in America do people not understand that
My favorite Pokémon inspiration thus far are the Treasures of Ruin from Paldea. They're based off the Four Perils of Chinese mythology: Wo-Chien's name is a combination of 蜗/wō (snail) and 簡/jiǎn (bamboo slips). Bamboo slips were used in China for writing documents before paper was introduced. Its idea comes from a Chinese idiom, 罄竹难书 (qin zhu nan shu), describing people with so much sin that even using all the bamboo to make tablets wouldn't be enough to record all of their wrongdoings.
Chien-Pao's name is a combination of 劍/jiàn (sword) and 豹/bào (leopard). Chien-Pao connects to warmongering and alludes to 虎符/hǔfú (tiger tally), the proof of imperial authorization in ancient China for implementation of troop orders.
Ting-Lu's name is a combination of 鼎/dǐng (an ancient Chinese cauldron) and 鹿/lù (deer). This also refers to two different idioms, 问鼎(wen ding) and 逐鹿(zhu lu). Dating back to the Warring States period (around 300 BC), both of these words mean over ambition and hunger for power.
Chi-Yu's name is a combination of 鯽魚/jìyú (goldfish) and 玉/yù (jade). Something many don't know, goldfish actually come from China! During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), it was very popular for the rich to keep them in ornamental ponds. Jade is also historically a symbol of wealth.
@@tlst94 The main Legendaries of Gen 3 are based on Hebrew mythology, Gen 5 Taoism, and Gen 6 Norse Mythology, despite those regions being based off of Japan, New York, and France respectively. It’s fine lol
@@tlst94 To be honest, as someone who used to think it would be cooler if that were the case, I think it would be boring! It’s fun to include unexpected things in new Pokémon games. But if Lockstin & Gnoggin videos have proven anything to me, it’s that out-of-place Pokémon may actually have more validity than what they seem at face value.
@@tlst94 Them not always being native to the culture of their region makes Pokémon feel like a full world. It's how they justify constantly introducing new regions. There are countless cultures and creatures unique to those cultures, but they often mix so these cultures don't feel isolated.
@@tlst94 It would. But from a story telling standpoint it's great how it is now. For once ancient trade routes between Europe and China have been a thing, going back as far as the bronze age. The history of Paldea's first king really underpins the philosophical idea behind the creatures pretty well (with a Chinese-inspired region the lore most likely would have watered down, as the sub-legendaries normally aren't given lots of credit in the story) and it connects the power-hungry Paldea to the power-hungry Kalos nearby. I like the small things they managed to show off with the Treasures of Ruin. Plus it's common for the legendaries to not have any bonds to the real-world region (starting as far back as the legendary birds in Gen 1 which are a near-eastern Phoenix, a north-american Thunderbird and whatever Articuno is based on). It helps to distinguish the Pokemon world from the real world as well. This is not an alternate timeline fantasy, it's an alternate world fantasy.
@@Evan_L_RodriguezI recently had a thought about Victini. It’s found in Liberty Garden, which is based on Liberty Island. The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island and it was sculpted by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The Kalos Region is based on France, so would that mean Victini originated in the Kalos Region?
First off, glad you caught the Fakemon.
Second off, this franchise means a lot to me and frankly was likely my stepping stone into the world of monsters. I’m glad it’s getting covered as Pokemon is where ecology meets folklore, horror, and sci-fi, and it’s packaged in a very cute way. I’ve heard of people being inspired by Pokemon to be folklorists, engineers, archaeologists, and biologists.
So, thanks, Dr. Z. Many of us millennial monster-lovers have Pokémon to thank for why we’re interested in monsters today.
This is amazing!!!!! I was wondering if Pokémon would make it into monstrum. As a person who also grew up playing Pokémon games this video warms my heart. It’s funny how much culture, folklore, history, and religion is represented in the Pokémon games and franchise. I think that it was the help of Pokémon that kept my interest of animals alive and helped me become a biologist. It’s amazing how a simple game in 1996-1998 became such a big global icon. I remember going to a store this month to buy some Pokémon cards and seeing a dad and his five kids all searching through the cards for specific Pokémon cards which I helped. It was such a great feeling seeing so many generations loving the same franchise. Thank you for making this video Dr. Z and monstrum staff. This video has made my day. Also I love the anime animation made for this video.
Thank you for sharing!
"Meowth That's Right!" "Pika-Pi"
@@pbsstoried Pokémon unite Google play games 🇯🇵 Japan
I am so happy that you mentioned how you got into the Pokémon fandom. And I love that Pokémon has such a universal appeal. This gives my inner 6th grade such joy.
Was the banshee one a mistake? The pokemon, Golurk I believe, is more golem based (that you mentioned earlier), but is shown next to banshee.
1:15 That one's a Fakemon i think
There's a mistake: 06:50, 07:01 - (a) Only 4 creatures needed to be traded inorder to evolve, and all 4 of those were available in both versions of the game; (b) Each version had a few exclusive creatures that weren't available in the other version, so you needed trading inorder to complete the collection, but none of the "version exclusive" creatures needed trading inorder to evolve.
I just commented a similar thing. I trust the guy with a polemon profile pic lol
Yeah, I feel like there could have been better fact checking on this particular video
1:16, thats not a pokemon.
6:54, that green one is a counterfeit.
You know Dr. Z I think it was definitely Pokemon that started a lot of my interests. My interest in wildlife, my desire to travel and explore different places, and my love of creatures and folklore.
One-time characters apparently.
Dr. Z growing up with Pokemon and then PokemonGo through my teen years and now on my fave show on RUclips I can't believe that a Pokemon episode was made. I love it. I'm from a tiny island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (Fiji) and Pokemon allowed me to be relateable over the years with international students. I'm loving this Dr Z keep it up
Of course one artist in particular "RJ Palmer" created an art series called the "Realistic Pokémon project" in which his art imagines what kind of biology a more scientifically grounded version of Pokémon might have - often with fascinating results.
In fact he was hired as a concept artist for the film "Pokémon Detective Pikachu".
I've seen his project and though I think he's a great artist, there are some interpretations I don't agree with at all.
@@ScionStorm1is it the Pokémon hornet or the Pokémon ants or the Pokémon mosquito.
Those are some of the insects I'm not very easy with.
In Gen 1 of Pokemon there were four Pokemon that evolved by trade, Machoke, Haunter, Graveler, and Kadabra. Poliwirl in Politoad, Onix, Magamar, Slowpoke's Slowking evo, Electibuzz, Rhydon, Scyther, Porygon, and Seadra don't get evos till later games. In addition to the trade evolutions, there were also version exclusive Pokemon, a tradition that has continued to this day. In Red/Blue/Green, depending on which game you had you could get either the Ekans line, Oddish line, Mankey line, Growlithe line, Scyther and Electibuzz, or the Sandshrew line, Vulpix line, meowth line, Bellsprout line, Magmar and Pinsir. There was also the issue of Eevee, since there was only in the game and if you wanted all three of its evos at the time you need to trade for them and you could only get either Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan in a playthrough, not both...
I really wish more fact-checking was done in this video, most of this information is not that hard to find if you look in the correct places.
Anybody else notice that the "Kasha" one is not a pokemon? Idk where it's from, but it's not a pokemon.
I love how Monstrum started with putting random Pokémon trivia (like "hey, this monster inspires that Pokémon") to having an entire video about Pokémon
Sweet personal story, Dr. Z! I'm 33 and have also played since the beginning, trading cards in the lunch rooms, until they were banned from schools lol. Kids also love learning to categorize things.
My brother’s binder was stolen on the playground at school and it was TRAGIC. Think they banned them soon after that.-*Dr.Z*
Gen1 squad!
Yeah, trading cards get banned from schools because, like Dr. Z said, avoiding the drama of stolen property but also to avoid the drama surrounding fights after buyers' remorse when they regret a trade and the other doesn't want to trade back.
i see Oddish in the thumbnail i click. Oddish is one of the most cutest pokemon ever.
Definitely one of my favourites as well!
I've got an Oddish tattoo!
The pokemon at 1:11 and 1:12 are odd selection, Wouldn't Volcarona make more sense as a Mothra equivalent? Also since when were Golett and Golurk Banshees? Wouldn't Misdreavus make more sense?
1:16 isn't a real pokemon, it's a fan made pokemon made by the artist ReallyDarkandWindie
Pokemon can be inspired by multiple things.
@@chickadeestevenson5440 Golett and Golurk have nothing to do with Banshees, aside from being ghosts...
@@seandewar47 well, I did some quick research to prove you wrong, because I was confident that Dr. Zarka and her team did their research, and besides, one design can have more than one source of inspiration, but it looks like they made a transposing error of sorts. All the sources I came across stated that Golett and Golurk were inspired by the Golem of Prague.
@@shelbylynn9 You mean Sean knew exactly what he was talking about? Shocker.
@@shelbylynn9 You don't even need to do that much research to come this conclusion, all you have to do is look at the pokemon themselves, it's blatantly obvious they're based on Golems, they're literally spirit energy trapped in clay armor, what about that suggests that they're banshees?
Literally playing Pokemon while watching this video; it was very cute. I just got a new Scatterbug and thinking about what to name her. Pokemon has been with me so long that I genuinely think I wouldn't be the same person if it hadn't existed, so the part of the video where you talk about how Pokemon can appeal to so many folks made me really happy, it made me remember how many friends I have made through this franchise and how there are so many more to make in the future. My favorite Pokémon species is Emolga BTW lol
1:16 Uhh, that’s not a Pokémon, friend.
Another pokékid here, absolutely delighted you made this video. My dad bought the original two generations of the game, and I've since kept up the best I could. Dad is in fact addicted to Pokémon Go. I hung my heart on it when I was six years old, never looked back.
I would like all these chapters to be in the future seasons of Monstrum.
*Sea Serpents
*Leviathan
*The Headless Horseman ✅
*Phantom Vehicles
*Boogeyman
*Ghosts
*Possessed Dolls
*Shadow People
*Undead
*Goblins
*Bigfoot
*Man-Eating Plants ✅
*Creepy Clowns
*Killer Robots
*Swamp Monsters
*The Mummy ✅️
*Scarecrows
*The Invisible Man
*Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
*Merfolk
*Demons
*Skeletons
*Stingy Jack (Jack of The Lantern)
*Gnomes
*Sea Monsters that attacked Submarines
*Alien Abductions ✅
*Ogres
*Ghouls
*Lich
*Cyborgs ✅
*Witches
*Kaiju
*Cthulhu ✅
*The Rake
*Revenants
*Vampires
*Dagon
*Ogopogo
*Colossal Claude
*Spectral Carriages
*Kappa
*Flatwoods Monster
*The Flying Dutchman
*El Charro Negro
*La Santa Compaña
*Davy Jones & the Undead Pirates
I too have possible "clients" for chapters of future Monstrum seasons, I hope they are ok:
*AHUIZOTL
* Kelpie and other swamp Monsters
*"Prehistoric monsters"
* mutants
* beast people OF DR MOREAU
@@germanomagnone one client I want for Monstrum is raiju from Japan. It is electrified monster with fearsome looking face that is actually docile but can get dangerous when angry, zapping anyone with lightning. Raiju always targets wrongdoers to punish them for their misdeeds, plus it can shapeshift into various beasts, most commonly dog or wolf. This electrified yokai can shapeshift into a rhinoceros, bear, weasel, bull, wild boar, squirrel, chevrotain and even crab or lobster
I cannot say how happy this ep makes me! I had never played any handheld thing before, and then I got my hands on a GameBoy Color and a copy of Pokemon Yellow. I was in my 20s and I was instantly hooked. My son is now FAR more familiar with the Pokemon world than I am, but I still love the franchise and the seemingly endless ways they've expanded it.
And may I say, I am SO glad to hear that Dr Z also just liked looking at the pictures on the trading cards? I got so much guff for doing exactly that with MtG cards, hah! By the time the Pokemon TCG came out, I was too poor to afford collectibles anymore, but I still enjoyed looking through various guidebooks and other resources, and listening to folks at the local TCG/comics shop chattering away about their own collections.
Minor Pokemon corrections:
- 1:07 Golem (the Pokemon) is more of a "generic rock monster" than certain types of mythological Golems. Golett/Golurk (1:12) on the other hand IS more clearly based on the Jewish mythological Golem (with some added inspiration from kaiju-sized Super Robots).
- Misdreavus/Mismagius are probably a closer match for the mythological Banshee (1:12).
- 7:05 When you said "11" Pokemon that "evolve after trading", strictly speaking, in Generation 1 only FOUR Pokemon evolved "after trading" (Graveler, Haunter, Kadabra, Machoke). By coincidence, however, there are 7 more Pokemon _introduced in later generations_ (Kingdra, Politoed, Porygon-2, Porygon-Z, Scizor, Slowking, Steelix) that evolve by trade, from a form _present in_ Generation 1, for a total of "11 Pokemon".
- 7:05 You probably meant to explain how each version of JP Pokemon Red/Green (and US Pokemon Red/Blue) had 11 Pokemon _exclusive to each version_ -- from 6 pairs of evolutionary families (Ekans / Sandshrew, Vulpix / Growlithe, Oddish / Bellsprout, Meowth / Mankey, Scyther / Pinsir, Magmar / Electabuzz).
Did not expacted a monstrum episode on pokemon but Im all for it. And as expacted you nailed it (Although in 1:07 they were some glaring inaccuracies).
I had a feeling that a Pokemon episode of Monstrum was inevitable! When it comes to the Pokemon that I've trained over the years, I can easily see each of them having a distinct personality. In case you're wondering which Pokemon is my favorite,the answer is that I have several. My personal faves are Hypno and Gengar (Red,Green, & Blue and it's my spirit Pokemon), Shiftry (Ruby, Sapphire, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire), Empoleon, Lucario, Honchkrow, and Gliscor (Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl), Terrakion (Black and White), Greninja (X and Y), Decidueye (Sun and Moon), and last of all, Cinderace (Sword and Shield). BTW Dr.Z, I love you Venusaur shirt!
Only 4 Pokémon evolved via trade in Gen 1. But there were another 7 in each game which were version exclusive, bringing it up to 11 Pokémon you need to trade for (12 if you count the Hitmons)
Right!? She said 11 out of them would only evolve after trading. Considering this was about the 1st generation, clearly neither she nor the scriptwriters know much about pokemon.
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme She said she played the games and collected the cards as a kid. It was a mistake.
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme yeah it’s weird seeing Pokemon talked about by people outside of the community. I think this video is targeted toward the general population who aren’t in the community the same way we are.
Really enjoyed hearing about your personal connection to the monsters in question. It's hard to explain to anyone of any other generation just how magical the original Pokemon craze was to be part of.
My niece and nephew have recently discovered Pokémon and are deep into the 'organise the cards into folders' phase. I don't know if they've played any games yet, but there's always time for that later.
I was almost sure Dr.Zarka had her pokemon moment at some point of her life.
Never thought it was that deep. GJ, and thank you for sharing your love to the world.
You gotta do dinosaurs next! They (along with billions of other prehistoric animals) have had a long lasting impact as monsters long before science even made them into a thing!
From Pokemon to Dinosaurs? Got my vote.
I love the idea. My kid right now is into dinosaur 🦖
But are they consider monster?
I hope so, I adore dinosaurs and then they have contributed to the "birth" of certain famous monsters such as Godzilla.
in a certain sense dinosaurs are so famous that other prehistoric animals that few know, such as Gorgonopsia were a therapsids (a distant ancestor of mammals) that lived Before The Dinosaurs, 270-250 million years ago, Daeodon call the "Hell Pig" that inhabited North America about 23 to 20 million years ago during the latest Oligocene and earliest Miocene. many more.
But monstrums always been about mythical creatures? I dont think this fits the theme. What's next, we ask for videos about dogs? Because who doesnt love dogs right? Please keep Monstrum true to its core theme, which is mythical creatures.
@@Watch-0w1 in a way they were a "monsters".
1:15 idk where you even got that "Pokémon" art but that's not a Pokémon and that's just someone's art
As a kid I always took any chance I could to make a school project focus on Pokemon. So to any kids who are watching this video as a source since it's backed by PBS, please don't. So much of it is wrong and you can find better sources. It's a weird mix of incorrect information and strange editing/reference choices. There are some great videos on both the history of Pokemon as an IP (an idea/franchise) as well as videos on Satoshi Tajiri's life and business accomplishments by RUclipsrs like "Tama Hero" and "DidYouKnowGaming".
Not really trying to dunk on Storied or PBS but when you title the video something like "The Untold Secrets of Pokemon's Monster Mythology" and then barely touch on any accurate monster origins while also padding the runtime with incorrect information it's better to avoid watching it. But people worked hard on this video, and not everyone is passionate about each project they make so things slip through now and again. :)
all the talk of yo kai in this episode makes me want you to do yo kai watch! it was one of my favorite game series and it has a lot more real world monsters in it than pokemon
I played it bc someone told me pokemon was just a dragon warrior (now known as dragon quest) game, but for gameboy. I got hooked.
Im not sure where she got that 11 of the original 151 evolved with trade. Its only 4 in gen 1, so i guess ypu could argue 8 or 12 since theyre all 3 stage and its the step between stage 2 and 3.
she meant version exclusives
Love this video! Not only is it well put together with its history & folklore, but your love for the franchise adds heart to this Monstrum subject. Pokémon are indeed interesting to talk about. Thanks for looking into these lovable pocket monsters, Bravo!
9:54 - "I guess in a way, I never stopped being that little girl. My monster-collecting just looks different now"
Dammit. That got me right in the feels
So excited to see all the content you creat and how much you grow!
You've grown so much these past couple of months content wise, so just can't wait to see you blossom within your channel
An episode on Pokemon was actually a welcome surprise and Dr Zarka's stories of her childhood were very wholesome. That said there were quite a few mistakes in this one, like the cat fakemon, some of the cited pokemon inspirations being wrong or misplaced and some more wrong little details, facts ans pictures (like the age and name of Red and the bootleg Green cartridge).
I will forever adore the fact that you can have Giratina, dark angel of Sinnoh and god of antimatter and destruction, go into a cuteness contest and win.
I joined the Pokémon franchise back in Generation 5 (BW, BW2 in 2011-2012), didn't grow up with Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle but with Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott. But it's still a franchise that I hold deep in my heart. I have played and bought every single game from every generation since then. Even when I am out of my "Pokémon phase", I go back into it whenever there's a new release. Currently my all time favorite games are Black, White, Black 2, White 2 and Legends Arceus (which to me is the one game that truly captures the essence of Pokémon, aka capturing, collecting and cataloguing them in a Pokédex).
when in the breeding center for Pokemon game ds was that I love the idea of cross-breeding the Pokemon to see what recessive and dominant traits or poke parents they take on. it was my obsession as a kid-teen as it was learned after a science class that was something similar to reaching the level of professor oak's and team rockets' experiments. Collecting cards was my best time, as I also love their Kawaii-style appearances. I love the classic Pikachu for his/her cuteness and Bulbasaur as I always call it boba like tapioca boba tea.
I'm an arachnologist/entomologist. I was around 13 when Pokémon blue and red came out.
When Pokémon Go! was launched in 2016, I was working in the scientific research center of a Natural History Museum. My work was very diverse, but included field work as well.
My collegues and I always joked that it could not be that long until we would a Pokémon Go!er somewhere in the wild while "hunting" real arthropods ourselves.
And at some point the PR of the museum decided to make it possible to have Pokémon present inside the building and the exhibitions via Pokémon Go! Even if I'm not sure how successfull it was I still find it somewhat hilarious.
Really got to respect how these fictional "monsters" became so universally popular, and staying so for decades by now.
About the exploring, finding, catching and knowing the features of wild life, it's a big part of my profession. But the biodiversity is way higher of course, the identification trickier. Even the exchange (of mounted specimens though) is part of it. The fights not so much, but even that has a real life tradition in some regions.
So yeah, I totally see how the inventor was highly inspired by collecting wild bugs to create the world of Pokémon.
Sorry for the long comment. Loved your video.
The illustrations with a starry-eyed young Dr. Z are so spot-on!
This was one of my favorite episodes! Thanks for creating such a great show!
Wait a minute that's not a Pokémon at 1:15
You’re right. It’s a Fakemon called Pyorpse.
Imposter detected.
Yes it is, It's Tangela. A gen 1 pokemon
EDIT: Yeah ok, I see that they meant the pokemon after Tangela, they just put the wrong timestamp
@@seandewar47 This person means the cat
@•アノマロカリス• (Anomalocaris) Oh ok, yeah I see it now
This is super awesome and cute! 😊
Who else would like to see Monstrum do like something this, but with monsters from MTG and D&D?
Oh, so this is why Dr. Zarka was asking on Twitter if anyone knew of any artists specializing in anime style drawing! I thought it was going to a video on kappa or the Slit-Mouthed Woman
This particular video and its narrative was kind of a tearjerker. :')
I loved looking at the pictures of Pokémon too! And learning about them. The illustrations are so beautiful also.
I can kind of tell that this video wasn't thoroughly researched by the first two minutes. at 1:12 they're saying Golett and Golurk are Banshees? Their names are literally portmanteaus of Golem. Then they include some thing called Pyorpse which isn't even a pokemon, it's from some fan game I've never heard of. I thought PBS took pride in presenting good well sourced information.
Ghost types are my favorite, so seeing golett/golurk shown instead of mismagius for comparison for the banshee was a facepalm moment.
She also mangled the name of one of the most famous artists in the world... It's Ho-ku-sai, not Hu-ka-sai 🤦
coooooooool a Pokemon episode! I grew up with the gameboy games and watching the cartoons (I'm 37), never got too into the actual cards and now there's so many damn pokemon to keep up with! Glad you're doing this episode
First, I want to see if someone could make a Fakemon of the frog with a leech. I agree, it would be a cool Pokemon.
This video made so freakin' happy, I even got emotional when she mentioned childhood and Pokemon. This video was so unsuspected but enjoyable
I also believe Pokemon is what got us interested in monster in general and maybe having fantasies to become friend with one. My first game was Pokemon Red when I was six and I have been hooked on this ever since then.
1:16 ... I don't think that's a pokemon.
Amazing fitting graphics and sound effects! Thanks Dr Z!
Like you and your show and your area of expertise on monsters in your field of study hasnt made me fall in love with you so hard now you made this video.
Pokemon is my favorite thing ever. Your take on them is amazing.
This video is so perfect. I loved this so much! As another monster interested, and Pokemon fan, i just loved it
I’m happy I already know so much about these facts from Poketubers and other video game related RUclipsrs. Yeah Pokémon has been such a big part of my life and learning about all of the real world influences is really cool.
I had the same experience with Pokemon- I just loved reading about them and looking at them. It used to be my reward for good behavior in school.
slight addition to the creation of the Pokemon series, is that the use of pokeballs to capture monsters and use them in battle was inspired by Tsubaraya's Ultraseven series in where the series's protagonist Dan Moroboshi aka Ultraseven will sometimes use one of his captured monsters to stop another during the time's he wasn't able to Transform to his Giant of light form.
Great video❤! Even tho there are some wrong details around 1.12-1.16
Pokemon is clearly close to your heart! Glad you got to share about it on this channel.
This was a good watch to start the weekend! Thank you, Dr. Zarka - or should I say 'Professor Zarka'.
I want to debunk the long-lived myth that in every Pokemon game the player is a 10 year old child. For example, according to the game manual of Pokemon Red and Blue, Red is actually 11 years old. The idea that the protagonist is 10 years old comes from the anime. In reality, the canonical ages of player characters vary between 11-17 depending on the game. The oldest protagonists can be found in the Pokemon X and Y, where Calem and Serena are canonically at least 17 years old.
I always undoubtedly thought that was the case until I read your comment, Are you going to do a video about that?
What a brilliant topic for a monster episode! As a Pokémon fan who played the original GB games, this was a really good discussion!
How neat to see one of my favorite franchises featured on a PBS channel!!! Not to be a stickler, but the accent mark above the E affects the pronunciation. It's pronounced Po•Kay•Mon, not Po•Kee•Mon.
It's such a nice feeling to read about all the people who had pokemon as a part of their youth, just as it was part of mine. At the same time never meeting one another, i feel connected to y'all around the world.
But maybe just the painkillers for my backpain just kick in right now.
Not gonna lie.. when I first heard the term 'Pocket Monster'.... I thought it meant something very different.
Love this one so much! My first entry into the world of Pokemon was the anime, then my godbrother let me play his copy of Pokemon Silver on the GBC and I was hooked. Still play the games today and I totally related to the amount of passion in your voice when you were speaking about your own experiences with the franchise. Love your work, Dr. Z!
Despite growing up in the 90s, I didn’t get into Pokémon until Pokémon Go came out. It is nice to have something in common with my nephews :) plus, all the Eveelutions are unbearably cute!
While Hokusai manga is one of the early examples of the usage of the term Manga, Hokusai manga was a reference book for artists and not a work of caricature or storytelling art as what would be recognized as manga. It was Kitazawa Rakuten(although it was Imaizumi Ippyo who first used the term manga for caricature,) who popularized the term manga for the public in the early 20th century. go ask a manga historian, we are more than happy to tell you all about manga
I'd also point out that Toriyama Sekien is the main artist who contributed to the popularization of Yokai during the Edo period with his illustrated encyclopedias. Was he even mentioned?
Can we all say that pokemon designed young Z is adorable... also i loved that you mentioned my favorite artist shigeru Mizuki
I have followed this channel since it used to be Monstrum. So hey Monstrum, THIS WAS BEAUTIFUL!! I usually don't comment, but this was just soooooo damn amazing.
Yay! More Japanese monster appreciation. I'd love to see a video on bake-danuki.
Something interesting is that Pokemon, specially the first generation, also takes a lot of inspiration from classic rpg monsters like slimes (with creatures like muk) , mimics like voltorb (a mimic that instead of resembling a chest, looks like a pokeball, the common icon used to represent useful overworld items for trainers in the first games), dragons, giant bugs, sea monsters and all kinds of elemental creatures from those kind of games.
And the concept of pokemon as a whole also takes a lot inspiration from the Ultraman franchise. Or more specifically from one of the devices shown in the series. Basically when Ultraman for whatever reason was unable to transform he would summon a previously captured Kaiju to fight for him for a while and they were all sealed in little capsules very similar to pokeballs. In fact, the change of the original name "Capsule Mon" to "pokemon" was due to fear of legal actions for this reason. In fact, many pokemon of the first two generations have incredible similarities to many of the Kaijus from the ultraman franchise.
Thanks for this episode! I loved Pikachu and the whole Pokemon franchise right from the start
“Gotta catch ‘em all” from ゲットする(getto suru) comes from the Japanese way of pronouncing the English word “get” + the Japanese verb “to do” (suru)
Thank you Dr. Zarka, for reminding me why I loved this series so much as a Kid and now as an adult, Pikachu is my constant companion.
I will never forget being a kid and my friend showing me a magazine ad for Pokemon, a new GameBoy game, to 'catch them all' I saw a floating rock with flexing arms (Geodude) and thought 'I don't know what this is, but I want in'
My my, Pokemon really had a huge impact in my life! From creating our own 'real-world' game, designing my own Pokemons, memorising all the 151 initial ones, reading up on lore, arguing which was the strongest Pokemon with friends, having a crush on Ash .. My childhood was upgraded thanks to Pokemon.
I had a crush on James lol super random
Awesome video, and I like the manga illustrations !
Glad you like them!
Good episode! Thank you for awakening good memories.
One of the things I love about Pokémon is the whole idea of catching them all since you get to see just how varied some Pokémon (and by extension, animals) are. Some have slight or huge gender differences, some have multiple evolutions, some have different forms, theses even one who’s got different patterns based on your real world location. And if you’re super lucky you may even find one that’s a difference color
I don’t know too much about Pokémon but I have friends who know much more. I am, however, a huge kaiju fan!! The creature designs of the Pokémon are super creative! Tyrantrum and Torterra are some of my personal favorites.
I remember never hearing anything about Pokémon until a friend told me I need to get this new game for the Gameboy that was all the rage in Japan. I remember one night my mom grandmother and I went to Sears to buy a Gameboy pocket and Pokémon Blue version (my friend had gotten Red version). I ran those batteries out within a day from playing non-stop. There was something so original so addictive about trying to catch 'em all then finding the ones that are only in one version to trade with another player who had the other version so you could catch 'em all. It was an amazing time and I tried to keep up but sadly lost interest after Generation 2. I had turned 18 and had to grow up.
Then I saw Pokémon Let's Go for the Nintendo Switch. All the emotions and the wonder and the desire to find and catch 'em all came back but this time I didn't have to be alone. I could have my little niece play alongside me and inspire her to catch 'em all and tell her the lore behind everything and how it was back in my days of playing the original Blue version.
Yeah we need more of this.
I ponder what kind of team Dr. Zarka would have
There’s always a Pikachu in the mosh pit at a BABYMETAL concert🤘🐱🎫
What made pokemon so enduring.Neurodivergent kids and adults
You have no idea how excited I was to see this episode appear! Absolutely love pokemon and mine are sitting in my switch also...right leg is reserved for a pokemon sleeve lol....Eevee, Lapras and Psyduck are my favorite
The begining of this video was scuffed, but I love the attention brought to my favorite franchise.
Just to add on to Pikachu as the Mascot. Tajiri didn't really want a "mascot" because he wanted everyone to have their own favorite without pushing one over the other. But along comes a manga and show, and Ash needs a starter. So, they decided NOT to choose any of the starters, and instead give Ash all three. Also Pikachu was chosen because he was yellow. How many yellow video game mascots are there? Not many. A lot of blue ones, a lot of green ones, but yellow stands out. Pac-man had fallen out of the limelight by this point and Samus is more Orange.
Also, the Cat Pokémon that pops up with the Kasha in the side by side at 1:16 isn't an official Pokémon, it's a fan-made one. Just saying.
Also, also, great video👍