Gray text =
Original content (this page; 2000)
(+ related ep. updates, notes)
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Blue text =
Additional content (2003-09) |
 What is  ?
To begin, Pokémon is pronounced "Po-KAY-mahn" or "Pok-uh-mahn" (NOT Po-kee-MAN or Poke-MAN). It is the collective name for the hundreds of known species of creatures, each with a specific or combination of two of the seventeen different elements, including normal, grass, fire, water, grass, electric, poison, rock, psychic, ghost, ground, ice, flying, bug, dragon, dark, and steel. Unlike some other trading card-based monsters that are digital or virtual, Pokémon are living, breathing, *sentient beings (*as defined by animal advocacy groups, not the Star Trek universe¹), who depend on humans for their survival and well-being.
With their special techniques, Pokémon battle in matches under the instruction of their human trainers, who work hard to bring out their Pokémon's strengths; a trainer's journey begins with a starter Pokémon, challenging Pokémon in the wild in hopes to win and gain a new friend and teammate in each captured Pokémon, all with the goal of becoming a Pokémon Master. Training and battling are just a few of the many ways humans and Pokémon can interact, and share in the world of these wondrous creatures.
¹Often used in defense of animals, 'sentient' refers to any creature with the ability to experience basic emotions, pain, fear, etc... However, according to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Measure of Man", the requirements for sentience include 'intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness'; those meeting these requirements are also often referred to as 'intelligent life', and does not include life forms otherwise referred to as 'animals'.
 Battles Over Battles... 
Text copyright © 2000-2009 by Kimberly (RageOfInnocence)
Pokémon © Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo/Game Freak, Pokémon USA;
Go, Diego, Go! © Viacom International Inc.
Most Pokémon sprites from the late great site Pokémonaholic;
the beautiful screenshot of Ash and Pikachu is from the Pocket Monsters
Diamond & Pearl ending "Kaze no Message" |
kimsites.net
Dream Valley | Oak Branch Woods | We All Live in a Pokémon World | Rainforest | Kimberly's Attic
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Related episode(s):
![Poke Master! (Satoshi [Ash] fanlisting)](fl_satoshi.gif)
![MASTERPIECE (Kenji [Tracey] fanlisting)](masterpiece.png)
![SERPENT [Arbok fanlisting]](fan_arbok.png)
![Spicy? Bitter? Dry? Sour? ['Together' fanlisting]](fan_together.png)
![Mahou Love [Satoshi {Ash} + Kasumi {Misty} fanlisting]](fl-ash_misty.gif)
![A Single Rose [Haruka {May} + Shuu {Drew} fanlisting]](fl-may_drew.jpg)
