Icons (2022 TV series)/Episode 1 transcript

Prologue
Narrator: "It was supposed to be a fad."

Alfred R. Kahn: "A lot of people thought this game was going to be one of those trends that would be outdated in the next few years."

Toby Fox: "It was basically the new pet rock."

Narrator: "Yet it became one of the most recognized brands in the world."

Shigeki Morimoto: "We were very happy that the two games did as well as they did."

Toby Fox: "I went nuts. That year when I gave a Christmas list to give to my parents, it had one item on it; and that was Pokémon for Game Boy."

Narrator: "And through its ups and downs, it continues to persevere."

Andre "Black Nerd" Meadows: "It was really beautiful to watch. And when you listen to the story, listen to the acting, they really just nailed it."

Narrator: "Find out where it came from, and where it's going. This is the epic story of Pokémon."

[theme plays]

Part I
Narrator: "In the early '90s, a small Japanese video game company called Game Freak is making strides on Nintendo systems."

Toby Fox - Creator, Undertale: "Game Freak was a small publisher based in Tokyo. They had come out with a number of games for both the NES and the Game Boy. But, there wasn't really anything that broke out of the mainstream for them outside of Yoshi - a puzzle game. And their game Mario and Wario was never released outside of Japan during Nintendo's heyday."

Narrator: "But that will soon change, when co-founder Satoshi Tajiri discovers the Game Boy's link cable."

Toby Fox: "Satoshi Tajiri realized that the link cable was made, but wasn't being used to its advantage by Nintendo."

Narrator: "It's then that Game Freak decides to gamble on Tajiri's mission to make a game that takes full advantage of the link cable's technology."

Alfred R. Kahn - Former CEO, 4Kids Entertainment: "I was with 4Kids on a business trip to Japan when I saw this franchise take off. Even before the franchise as a whole became the juggernaut it is today, a lot of people thought this game was going to be one of those trends that would be outdated in the next few years."

Narrator: "Game Freak turns to Tajiri to make his vision come to life, at the time under the title Capsule Monsters."

Toby Fox: "Tajiri was a true visionary. I think he enjoyed his job, but at the same time was frustrated that Nintendo sometimes didn't take its success very seriously. Not only for the company Game Freak, but for himself, personally. But, in all, he definitely changed the industry."

Andre "Black Nerd" Meadows - YouTube personality: "Satoshi Tajiri is really the father of Pokémon if there's one man who started this whole thing, it's his child."

Narrator: "Tajiri decides his project will be a role-playing game in the vein of Dragon Quest, and utilizing concepts from his favorite show as a kid - Ultraman - and his childhood hobby of collecting insects, and has in-house artist Ken Sugimori design the characters."

Satoshi Tajiri - Creator, Pokémon (in Japanese): "For me, the excitement of playing Pokémon actually comes from the player going on a quest; having their character collect monsters and train them and have them battle other monsters in order to get stronger. That's exciting, but it has a bigger impact when it's coupled with the graphics and the music that go with it."

Toby Fox: "Ken Sugimori is a very talented character designer. His works have been largely influenced by artists like Fujiko F. Fujio. As a character designer, he always wanted to appeal to kids and to kids at heart He saw this as an opportunity to try this new handheld kids' game. He saw the Game Boy as a canvas in some form."

Narrator: "For the score, Game Freak turns to co-founder and in-house composer, Junichi Masuda."

Junichi Masuda - Co-founder/Music producer, Game Freak (in Japanese): "I had worked with Satoshi and Ken at Game Freak since 1989, and was actually one of the developers of the Pokémon game series. I actually had some experience composing music for games we did based on the Mario franchise. And that's when I joined the Pocket Monsters project."

Andre Meadows: "In my mind, Junichi Masuda brought a lot of soul into the Pokémon games. With his Game Boy and Game Boy Advance musical contributions, he was really able to get players to want to go on epic journeys and imagine they were in the game."

Narrator: "With the team in place, work begins."

Toby Fox: "The original Pokémon game, at the time released in two versions - Red and Green - were designed to have kids interact with each other, hence why it was designed to take full advantage of the link cable."

Narrator: "With help from Nintendo, Game Freak releases Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green for the Game Boy on February 27, 1996. And kids are hooked."

Toby Fox: "Pokémon Generation I was a huge hit, and created a massive franchise which includes a TV show and toy line. It didn't quite reach the heights of - say - Doraemon, but it was clearly the second most-loved kids' franchise Japan had ever seen. And, you know; compared to Doraemon, second place isn't that bad. It was enough to put Game Freak on the map. Of course, then, work on a version based on the TV show began shortly after."

Narrator: "Despite the popularity of the Red and Green versions, Game Freak decides that an expansion based on the hit Pokémon anime series can be even better."

Alfred R. Kahn: "I think what attracted kids into the franchise was, not just Mewtwo being hidden until after you beat the main storyline of the first two-game story, but the cuteness of the mascot Pikachu attracted gamers to the franchise too. So, they decided to make a Yellow version just with Pikachu on it."

Narrator: "Pokémon Yellow is released in Japan on September 12, 1998 to coincide with the release of the Pokémon movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back."

Toby Fox: "You might think that a Yellow version was unnecessary due to the second generation of Pokémon games being in development, but the success of the franchise definitely proved that Pikachu and friends are here to stay. I think that word-of-mouth on the first two versions was great. They put a Game Boy in the hands of nearly every kid in Japan. Kids were ready for yet another RPG, but one they could take with them and play with their friends. Game Freak and Nintendo had really succeeded in making the mega hit that they wanted. The Pokémon brand ended up getting a lot of name recognition."

Narrator: "For Nintendo, the series proves to join the pantheon of other franchises on its roster, like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda."

Toby Fox: "The fans had come to see Pokémon, not just as a popular handheld game, but it had become a cultural phenomenon."

Narrator: "But would their success translate to another country or on a new system?"

Part II
Narrator: "After the runaway success of the first generation of Pokémon games in Japan, Nintendo decides to bring the franchise to the US market in 1997, but they also need help."

Toby Fox: "Nintendo was a household name, but they weren't the only company to bring the franchise to the US. They got help from Hasbro and 4Kids Entertainment. While the former was a massive toy company, 4Kids was an upstart that was getting into the kids' licensing business. But in the case of Nintendo, the resources necessary for translating a large, text-heavy RPG for the Game Boy were definitely there."

Narrator: "Nintendo's experience with translation and marketing, and their promotional push with their Nintendo Power magazine helps Pokémon find a new audience."

Toby Fox: "Nintendo Power had a huge article on the franchise, including the game and the Japanese anime series. This franchise was unlike anything that came out of Japan. I went nuts."

Narrator: "Word begins to spread, and Game Freak's monster-catcher becomes a hit all over again."

Toby Fox: The first two games became massive hits in the US, as did the anime series based on them. The latter also helped popularize Japanese anime as an art form in the United States."

Narrator: "But the video game world is about to change. However, despite a leap in technology, they decide to let the Game Boy go out with a bang with Pokémon Gold and Silver."

Toby Fox: "The second generation of Pokémon games sold even better than Red and Blue in Japan and North America, and sold about 30 million copies. After that, Nintendo pretty much closed the book on the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color, and was really gearing up for the launch of the Game Boy Advance."

Narrator: "Game Freak begins work on a third generation of Pokémon games. But changing technology for handhelds requires a facelift. On November 21, 2002, the Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire games are released in Japan, which arrive in the US several months later. The popularity of the Pokémon franchise plays a key role in the launch of the Game Boy Advance SP, an updated version of the Game Boy Advance."

Toby Fox: "Pokémon fans are infamously devoted to their series, and when their favorite series jumped to the Game Boy Advance, they did too. Game Freak and Nintendo's relationship caused them to co-found The Pokémon Company along with another developer called Creatures, Inc. In addition to that partnership, Nintendo's popular handhelds helped this venture sell lots of copies. And in turn, the popularity of Pokémon drove players to choose Nintendo's hardware."

Narrator: "The Nintendo DS is released in 2004, and the Pokémon franchise migrates to that new system with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in 2006 in Japan and one year later in North America. The game does well with the 3D backgrounds. And fans wouldn't have to wait long for another new generation to come to the DS. The fifth generation of Pokémon games arrives in Japanese stores on September 18, 2010 with Pokémon Black and White. The games arrive in America six months later. And they once again take the world by storm."

Toby Fox: "Pokémon Black and White were graphical powerhouses in terms of handheld RPGs. It was the most beautiful generation of handheld games you'd ever seen. I think it was the first duology of games in which Ken Sugimori's artwork was able to be preserved in the characters and in the world - not just in the Pokémon designs. Graphic technology for handheld game consoles had improved to the point where small bits and pieces of his style were able to show through. It had a fantastic musical store; the music is widely considered to be Junichi Masuda's best score."

Narrator: "For their next game, Nintendo and Game Freak lay the foundation for a handheld RPG unlike any other. But their path will lead them to have the core series get a makeover."

Tsunekazu Ishihara - President, The Pokémon Company (in Japanese): "As a prominent provider of great content and games, to meet the consumer demand, it requires a lot of investment and time."

Shigeki Morimoto - Designer, Game Freak (in Japanese): "For Generation V, we expanded and opened some doors. And in order to keep on doing that with the next installment, we as a second-party developer wanted to make it visually more advanced in terms of handheld gaming. I think it was only going to work for us if we went with the hardware that had more capacity."

Toby Fox: "After Generation V came out, everyone assumed that Nintendo and Game Freak would move on to the Nintendo 3DS. And to no one's surprise, that were indeed correct."

Narrator: "Work begins on the sixth generation of Pokémon RPGs. As always, it consists of two different versions of a mainline game; but this generation will finally achieve the anime-like game quality that previous generations had been building towards."

Satoshi Tajiri (in Japanese): "The big leap came with Pokémon X and Y. That was when we migrated to the 3DS. With the handheld's 3D technology, we were able to bring the core Pokémon series to 3D. We now had the use of camera moves, and were able all kinds of angles. Game Freak was really able to create a much more intricate storyline as well as create intricate visuals for the games."

Shigeki Morimoto (in Japanese): "When creating X and Y, we were so sucked into creating the game that it didn't feel as long in the development period as I thought; seeing things we had never seen before done in the sense of creating anime."

Narrator: "Ken Sugimori returns to bring the Pokémon franchise's 3D transition to life."

Ken Sugimori (in Japanese): "The overall Pokémon brand is dear to my heart. And this was the first game in the series to be in 3D. I also saw how all the monsters and characters worked out. So, I kind of oversaw a balance of all those elements."

Shigeki Morimoto: (in Japanese) "The team was really excited about this overall; and it didn't seem like we were spending so much time on it. We also felt we were creating this series all over again. It was like a repeat of its popularity in the '90s."

Narrator: "Pokémon X and Y get a global simultaneous release in 2013, and Nintendo launches a massive worldwide ad campaign. And it pays off."

Alfred R. Kahn: "It's almost impossible to believe that a game series many people thought was a fad persists to this day. And X and Y is a good example of that. When the 3DS first came out, it wasn't doing so hot thanks to the prominence of the iPhone, but Pokémon clearly gave it an edge."

Shigeki Morimoto (in Japanese): "I'm actually quite amazed at how consistent Pokémon is in terms of sales. X and Y in particular certainly beat our expectations."

Narrator: "Work begins on Pokémon Sun and Moon. Nintendo and Game Freak release Pokémon Sun and Moon to an eager crowd of fans in 2016."

Abdallah "AbdallahSmash026" Elayan - YouTube personality: "Whenever a new Pokémon comes out for Nintendo systems, it's an event. Even though sales are way below their Game Boy heyday, they're still able to sell at least tens of millions."

Narrator: "An expansion of the Sun and Moon story soon follows, keeping fans happy until the next generation."

Toby Fox: "As the Pokémon games became increasingly cinematic, logically it seemed the next step was to make a movie."

Narrator: "And that movie puts Pokémon in a whole other circle."

Part III
Narrator: "In the Spring of 2016, game giant Nintendo and Legendary Entertainment announce plans to make a film based on the wildly successful Pokémon franchise. Hundreds of millions of dollars go into the making of Pokémon Detective Pikachu; based on the game of the same name, and starring Deadpool 's Ryan Reynolds and Jurassic World 's Justice Smith. The film is released in theaters on May 19, 2019, and the reaction is exactly what Nintendo had been hoping for."

Toby Fox - Creator, Undertale: "The movie was one of the first film adaptations of a game to actually be good, because it included the drama, the adventure, the humor, and the heart that had come to characterize the Pokémon plots."

Eric Stuart: "I think it just shows that if you have a passion for the subject you're making a movie about, then the rewards will be endless."

Junichi Masuda: "It's hard to say now. I was nervous about the reaction. Is this really a Pokémon movie or something else entirely. There was skepticism."

Andre "Black Nerd" Meadows - YouTube personality: "Detective Pikachu was definitely a high point for the franchise in my opinion. They put a ton of money into this movie, really high expectations for it... It was really beautiful to watch. And when you listen to the story, listen to the acting, they really just nailed it. Since it was successful, maybe there could be a Pokémon cinematic universe in the works. The possibilities are endless, because it was such a great movie."

Narrator: "After the box-office success of the film, Nintendo and Game Freak push forward in the series, using technology from previous installments to create a game for the new Nintendo Switch system."

Shigeki Morimoto - Designer, Game Freak (in Japanese): "Every generation of Pokémon games has a new something. A new challenge. For Sword and Shield, it was bringing an open world element into the games with the Wild Area. It added more life, and so did the Gigantimax battles we included in the games as well. It doesn't really complete the full circle starting from X and Y, but it's still progress."

Narrator: "On November 15, 2019, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield arrive for the Nintendo Switch, and despite complaints from hardcore gamers, fans still rush out to buy both games. They sell 3 million copies in the first 3 days. Work begins on several games at once. Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass, a two-part DLC expansion of the story in Pokémon Sword and Shield and Pokémon Masters, a smartphone strategy game featuring the return of character designer Ken Sugimori."

Shigeki Morimoto (in Japanese): "Yeah, I wonder why this franchise is so popular. I don't know, but I think it's the appeal of the Pokémon in each installment, and the sense of adventure and wonder. For example, Pokémon Masters was made specifically for smartphones. But still, it's a Pokémon game."

Narrator: "On February 27, 2021, Game Freak delights Pokémon fans with the first true open-world action RPG in the franchise, Pokémon Legends: Arceus."

Andre Meadows: "Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set in the Sinnoh region during a time similar to the Feudal era of Japan. To catch wild Pokémon, you can study the their behaviors, sneak up to them, then throw Poké balls which, in this era, are crafted of wood. You can also battle wild Pokémon with your own. By throwing the Poké ball holding your Pokémon near a wild one, you'll seamlessly enter battle. It's definitely an immersive experience. What makes it even better is, it's the first Pokémon game from Game Freak to use voice acting. That alone made it very special."

Narrator: "Game giant Nintendo announces the ninth generation of Pokémon games in a Nintendo Direct livestream to an eager crowd of fans. Pokémon is the highest grossing media franchise of all time, with millions of adoring fans."

Shigeki Morimoto (in Japanese): "For a series that has been around for half a century, I believe by now there's a new generation of users who are playing the current Pokémon games. So in a sense, this franchise has provided content for eight generations so far. And hopefully, that will continue. That will be my hope. To continue the Pokémon series, that will be something."

Alfred R. Kahn - Former CEO, 4Kids Entertainment: "When consumers see the Pokémon logo on the box, they know this game is going to have amazing production values, it's been tested to death to make sure it's fun, and, you know... this game's going to be solid."

Andre Meadows: "I think for gamers, especially Nintendo fans, whenever a new Pokémon game is announced, the world pretty much stops. Even those that don't like Pokémon, they want to know what's going on, because it has that big of an impact. It's just an incredibly successful series, very popular still."

Tsunekazu Ishihara - President, The Pokémon Company (in Japanese): "With all of the types of media we specialize in, especially video games, we try to do what is at the highest point of interest with every installment. of the franchise. Whether it may be games or trading cards. We don't do repeats, we always keep up with ourselves."

Ken Sugimori (in Japanese): "I don't really have this huge goal in front of me, it's more what we believe in; what we believe is going to be a great product. That is all we basically focus on."

Satoshi Tajiri - Creator, Pokémon (in Japanese): "There are certain styles for Pokémon, Pokémon-ness if you will. Since the beginning of this brand, Game Freak has been able to work with the latest handheld gaming technology, the latest tools of the time, really challenge themselves each time they work on a new game. The series is like an imaginary playground. You find something entertaining and really cool to look at and wonder, 'Wow, how did they make this such a fun game?'"

Toby Fox: "As far as the future goes, I think Pokémon is going to be around for a long, long time. As long as Game Freak and Nintendo keep the talent fresh and the games interesting and exciting, I think consumers are going to enjoy the games.

Shigeki Morimoto (in Japanese): "I hope this series will continue forever, as long as there are users out there that want Pokémon."

Toby Fox: "Really, I think there isn't going to be a final Pokémon game, or TV episode to an extent."

[segment ends]