Pokémania
Pokémon hits the West and becomes a full-blown mania: Red & Blue, the 4Kids anime, cards banned in schoolyards, Burger King promotions, a Time magazine cover and a movie that topped the US box office. Gold & Silver arrive before the wave has even crested.
Part of Pokémon
110 moments in this segment.
- — Nintendo Pocket Pikachu commercial (1998). Japanese TV commercial for the Pocket Pikachu, Nintendo's 1998 pedometer-pet where walking in real life earned currency to feed your Pikachu — a precursor of Pokémon's later step-counting gadgets.
- — Pokémon Problem Inspection Report (subtitled). TV Tokyo's on-air report into the Porygon incident, broadcast ahead of the anime's April 1998 return, explaining the investigation and the new broadcast safeguards. English-subtitled archival footage.
- — Pokémon broadcast-resumption announcement (April 1998). The on-air announcement that Pocket Monsters would resume broadcasting after its four-month hiatus following the Porygon incident. The anime returned on April 16, 1998 with new photosensitivity safeguards.
- — Mewtwo Strikes Back — Japanese trailer #3. Another period Japanese trailer for the first Pokémon movie, 'Mewtwo Strikes Back', ahead of its July 18, 1998 premiere — the film that proved Pokémon could fill cinemas.
- — Carddass Pocket Monsters Anime Collection CM (1998). Japanese commercial for Bandai's Carddass Pocket Monsters anime card collection from July 1998, one of the many rival card products spun up during Japan's Pokémon boom.
- — Pocket Monsters VHS volumes 1-3 commercial (1998). Japanese commercial for the first sell-through VHS volumes of the Pocket Monsters anime, from July 1998 — how Japanese kids rewatched the series in the pre-streaming era.
- — Pocket Monsters Stadium (N64) Japanese commercials. Japanese TV commercials for Pocket Monsters Stadium, released for the Nintendo 64 on August 1, 1998. The rushed first Stadium shipped with only 42 of the 151 Pokémon battle-ready.
- — Pokémon Red & Blue 'Vacuum Cleaner' US teaser (Aug 1998). An obscure August 1998 US teaser commercial for Pokémon Red & Blue in which a vacuum sucks up a kid's toys, priming America for the September launch with the promise of 150 monsters in your pocket.
- — Pokémon episode 1 — 'I Choose You!' (English). The full first episode of the English-dubbed anime, in which 10-year-old Ash Ketchum oversleeps and gets stuck with Pikachu. The dub debuted in US syndication on September 8, 1998.
- — Pokémon — Indigo League opening theme (1998). The English Season 1 opening — 'I wanna be the very best' — sung by Jason Paige, which debuted with the US anime premiere in September 1998 and became one of TV's most recognizable theme songs.
- — The PokéRap — original full version (1998). The original PokéRap from Season 1 of the English anime, which rattled off all 150 Pokémon across the week's end-credits segments — homework American kids actually memorized in 1998.
- — Pocket Monsters Pikachu (Yellow) Japanese CM. Japanese commercial for Pocket Monsters Pikachu — Pokémon Yellow — released September 12, 1998. The special edition let Pikachu walk behind you, mirroring the anime.
- — Pokémon Game Boy commercial from September 1998. A US Pokémon Game Boy commercial pulled from a VHS tape of September 15, 1998 broadcasts — airing in the two-week ramp before Red & Blue hit American shelves on September 28.
- — Pokémon Indigo League TV advertisement (1998). US television advertisement for the first season of the Pokémon anime from its 1998 syndication launch, when the show quickly became the top-rated kids' program in America.
- — Pokémon Red & Blue US TV spot (1998). The US launch TV spot for Pokémon Red & Blue, released September 28, 1998 — the infamous bus commercial where passengers get trapped with battling monsters, tagged 'Gotta catch 'em all!'.
- — Pokémon Red & Blue 'Bus' commercial — full unreleased cut. A rare, longer unreleased cut of the 1998 Pokémon Red & Blue US bus commercial sequence, showing more of the ad's grimy live-action world than the broadcast version.
- — New Pokémon Kids 4 commercial (1998). Japanese commercial for Bandai's Pokémon Kids finger-puppet figures from October 1998 — candy-toy staples that put cheap Pokémon figures in every Japanese convenience store.
- — Pokémon Red & Blue USA promo (1998). US promotional spot for Pokémon Red & Blue from the game's autumn 1998 launch window, as Nintendo of America pushed the link-cable trading hook that made 'catching 'em all' require a friend.
- — Oshaberi Pikachu talking toy commercial (1998). Japanese commercial for the 'Oshaberi Pikachu 2' talking Pikachu toy from October 1998, part of Tomy's flood of electronic Pikachu companions at the height of Japan's boom.
- — TOMY 'Ask Pikachu' / Togepi toy commercial (1998). 1998 Japanese commercial for TOMY's 'Pikachu ni Kiite Miyou!' fortune-telling Pikachu toy with wobbling Togepi, cashing in on Togepi's anime debut that year.
- — Pikachu Genki Dechu — Japanese N64 commercial. Japanese commercial for 'Pikachu Genki Dechu' (Hey You, Pikachu!), released December 12, 1998 for the Nintendo 64 with its voice-recognition microphone — kids literally talked to Pikachu.
- — Pokémon Card GB commercial (December 1998). Japanese commercial for Pokémon Trading Card Game for Game Boy Color from December 1998, which turned the physical card craze into a video game — it later reached the West in 2000.
- — Kids' WB Pokémon 'New Episodes' promos (early 1999). Kids' WB promos for new Pokémon episodes from January-February 1999 VHS recordings, aired as the network prepared to take the syndicated hit exclusive.
- — Kids' WB Pokémon premiere bumper (Feb 13, 1999). The bumper shown right before Pokémon's Kids' WB network premiere on Saturday, February 13, 1999 — the day the show moved from syndication to the WB's flagship kids' block.
- — Pokémon TCG commercial #3 (1999). Unedited 1999 Wizards of the Coast commercial for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, from the launch year when packs sold out faster than stores could restock them.
- — Pokémon Trading Card Game ad (1999). 1999 US television ad inviting kids to card battles and to join a Pokémon TCG club, recovered from a period VHS recording.
- — 'Who's That Pokémon?' commercial bumpers (1999). The original 'Who's That Pokémon?' commercial-break intros and outros from 1999 broadcasts — the silhouette quiz that became one of the anime's most-loved rituals.
- — Pokémon toys commercial (1999). A 1999 American commercial for Hasbro's Pokémon action figures, part of the merchandising avalanche that made Pokémon a multi-billion-dollar licensing machine that year.
- — Pokémon TCG League commercial — 'Lazy Dog' (1999). 1999 commercial for the Pokémon Trading Card Game League, Wizards of the Coast's organized-play program that gave the card craze an official home in hobby shops across America.
- — Super Smash Bros. 'Happy Together' commercial (1999). The legendary US commercial for Super Smash Bros. (N64, April 1999), with costumed Mario, Yoshi, DK and Pikachu beating each other up to 'Happy Together' — Pikachu's debut as a fighting-game star.
- — Pokémon documentary shot in 1999. A student documentary about Pokémon made at The Evergreen State College in 1999, with real period interviews of kids and parents mid-craze — raw primary-source footage, not a retrospective.
- — Pokémon Snap official trailer (N64, 1999). Official 1999 trailer for Pokémon Snap, the on-rails photography safari that landed on Nintendo 64 in North America on June 30, 1999.
- — Pokémon Pinball commercial (1999). US commercial for Pokémon Pinball on Game Boy Color, released June 28, 1999 — the first cartridge with a built-in rumble motor, powered by its own AAA battery.
- — Pokémon Snap N64 commercial (1999). High-quality 1999 US commercial for Pokémon Snap, in which players photographed wild Pokémon instead of catching them — a spinoff pitch that sold over 1.5 million copies in the US.
- — Kids' WB *NSYNC PokéRap TV promo (1999). 1999 Kids' WB promo featuring boy band *NSYNC performing the PokéRap — peak-1999 cross-promotion between the two biggest kid-culture forces of the year.
- — Pokémon Snap Blockbuster contest commercial (1999). 1999 commercial for the Pokémon Snap Blockbuster contest. Blockbuster stores installed Snap Station kiosks where kids printed their in-game photos as sticker sheets.
- — Pokémon takes the US by storm — CBS archives (1999). CBS News archive footage of Pokémon taking the United States by storm in 1999, from the network's own vault of period reporting on the craze.
- — Pokémon: The First Movie — theatrical teaser (35mm scan). 4K scan of the 35mm theatrical teaser for Pokémon: The First Movie, which Warner Bros. released in North America in November 1999 after its record-breaking Japanese run.
- — Kids' WB Pokémon season-premiere commercial (1999). Kids' WB season-premiere commercial for Pokémon from 1999, hyping the show at the absolute peak of Pokémania.
- — Pocket Monsters Stadium 2 Japanese CM (1999). Japanese commercial for Pocket Monsters Stadium 2 (released April 30, 1999), the full-roster N64 battle game that reached the West as the first 'Pokémon Stadium'.
- — Pokémon: The First Movie — trailer (Warner Bros.). Warner Bros.' official trailer for Pokémon: The First Movie, introducing Mewtwo, the bio-engineered Pokémon who strikes back. The film opened to $31 million, then the biggest debut ever for an animated TV spin-off.
- — 'Pokémania Comes to America' — ABC News (1999). ABC News 1999 report on Pokémania sweeping US school grounds, TV, trading cards and merchandise, with a preview of the coming first movie.
- — KGBT 4 'Pokémon Mania' report (Oct 9, 1999). Local news archive from KGBT Action 4 News in Texas, broadcast October 9, 1999, documenting Pokémon Mania in the Rio Grande Valley.
- — Pocket Monsters opening 3 — 'OK!' (1999). 'OK!' by Rica Matsumoto, the Japanese anime's third opening, which debuted when the series entered the Johto arc in late 1999 alongside the Gold & Silver games.
- — NBC 'PokeNews' story (Oct 16, 1999). NBC news story on the Pokémon phenomenon broadcast October 16, 1999, as the franchise simultaneously topped toy, card, TV and game-sales charts in the US.
- — Pokémon Yellow US commercial (1999). US commercial for Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, recovered from VHS. Yellow hit North America in October 1999 and became the year's fastest-selling game.
- — 'Pokémania' — MSNBC news report (1999). MSNBC's 1999 'Pokémania' report, with analysts and parents trying to explain why one franchise had seized American childhood — a definitive time capsule of the craze at its peak.
- — 'Turning our children to witchcraft' — 7NEWS Australia (1999). 7NEWS Australia vault footage from 1999 of the Pokémon card craze gripping Australian schools, including parents claiming the cards were turning children to witchcraft.
- — Pokémon: The First Movie soundtrack commercial (1999). 1999 TV commercial for the First Movie soundtrack album, which packed in Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and 'Don't Say You Love Me' by M2M — and went triple platinum.
- — CNN on Pokémania (Nov 5, 1999). CNN segment from November 5, 1999 on Pokémania, with a financial analyst noting the property's unusual pull on both boys and girls — days before the first movie's release.
- — Rob Lowe interviewed at the First Movie premiere (1999). Rob Lowe talks about Pokémon on the red carpet of the 1999 First Movie premiere — celebrity bafflement at a kids' phenomenon, captured live.
- — Pokémon: The First Movie premiere — full red-carpet footage. Extended raw red-carpet video from the 1999 premiere of Pokémon: The First Movie, shot amid the late-1999 Pokémania craze — half an hour of unfiltered period atmosphere.
- — Burger King Big Kids Meal Pokémon toys commercial (1999). Commercial for Burger King's 1999 Pokémon Big Kids Meal promotion — 57 different toys tied to the First Movie, billed at the time as the biggest fast-food promotion ever run.
- — First Movie TV spot — 'In theaters Wednesday' (Nov 1999). US television spot counting down to Pokémon: The First Movie's Wednesday, November 10, 1999 opening — the release that had schools reporting mass absences.
- — Pikachu's Vacation — opening (1999). The opening of 'Pikachu's Vacation', the all-Pokémon short that played before Pokémon: The First Movie in US theaters — 20 minutes with almost no human dialogue.
- — 'Pokémon Pandemonium' — AZ Family 3TV news segment (1999). 1999 Arizona 3TV news segment with interviews at Arizona Mills mall as Pokémon: The First Movie opened — local news capturing Pokémania at the multiplex.
- — Pokémon craze at Burger King — 13WHAM archive (Nov 1999). Rochester's 13WHAM news archive from November 1999 on the Pokémon craze at Burger King, as the movie tie-in toy promotion drove lines out the door.
- — Burger King × Pokémon: The First Movie tie-in ad (1999). 1999 Burger King tie-in ad for Pokémon: The First Movie, from the promotion so popular that some restaurants sold Kids Meals without food to keep up with toy demand.
- — Rare Pokémon Gold & Silver CM with Kin-san and Gin-san. A rare Japanese Gold & Silver commercial recovered from an old family VHS, featuring the beloved centenarian twin celebrities Kin-san and Gin-san as the faces of 'Gold and Silver'.
- — YTV's The Zone on Pokémon: The First Movie (Nov 18, 1999). Canadian network YTV's 'The Zone' hosts Pat and Jenny discuss Pokémon: The First Movie on the November 18, 1999 broadcast — period after-school TV riding the movie wave.
- — 'Pokémon Flu' news report (1999). 1999 news report on the so-called 'Pokémon flu' — kids skipping school over Pokémon — from the same month TIME put Pikachu on its cover ('For the love of Pikachu', Nov 22, 1999).
- — Pokémon Gold & Silver launch day in Japan — news footage. Japanese news footage from the November 21, 1999 launch of Pokémon Gold & Silver, the long-awaited sequels that sold millions in their first days in Japan.
- — Pokémon Gold & Silver Japanese commercial (1999). Japanese TV commercials for Pokémon Gold & Silver from the games' 1999 launch, fronted by actress Ai Kato. Gold & Silver added 100 new Pokémon and a real-time day-night clock.
- — Pocket Monsters Gold & Silver CM (Nov 21, 1999). Japanese launch commercial for Pocket Monsters Gold & Silver, released for Game Boy Color on November 21, 1999 after two years of delays since their Spaceworld 1997 reveal.
- — Burger King gold-plated Pokémon cards commercial (1999). 1999 commercial for Burger King's limited-edition 23-karat gold-plated Pokémon trading cards, sold in Poké Ball tins during the First Movie promotion.
- — Pocket Pikachu Color CM — 'together with Gold & Silver'. 1999 Japanese commercial for the Pocket Pikachu Color pedometer, which could beam earned 'watts' into Pokémon Gold & Silver via infrared — an early step-counter-to-game link.
- — Shopping for Pokémon merchandise in 1999. Raw camcorder footage of people shopping for Pokémon merchandise in a store in 1999 — unedited holiday-season Pokémania as it actually looked at retail.
- — Burger King 'Tuesday is Pokémon Trading Night' ad (Nov 29, 1999). Burger King ad recorded off-air on November 29, 1999 promoting weekly in-restaurant Pokémon trading nights — fast-food chains literally hosting card-trading events at the peak of the craze.
- — Pikachu's Winter Vacation — Japanese commercial (1999). Japanese commercial for the 'Pikachu's Winter Vacation' direct-to-video shorts, the seasonal OVA line that became a December tradition for Japanese Pokémon fans in the late 1990s.
- — Pokémon Center Tokyo — December 1999 news footage. Rare Reuters news footage from inside Pokémon Center Tokyo in December 1999. The first official Pokémon store had opened in Nihonbashi in April 1998 and was mobbed through the boom years.
- — Inside an EB Games store at Christmas 1999. Home-video footage browsing Pokémon games inside a busy EB Games mall store just before Christmas 1999, with employees restocking mid-craze.
- — Counterfeit Pokémon cards flood Winnipeg — CBC (1999). CBC archive report from Christmas 1999: Pokémon cards are the must-have gift in Winnipeg, but many on the market are fakes — the counterfeit economy that shadowed the boom.
- — Burger King Pokémon ball recall commercial (1999). The actual recall PSA telling parents to take apart or throw out Burger King's Poké Ball toy containers. After a 13-month-old suffocated, some 25 million balls were recalled in December 1999.
- — Pokémon Stadium US commercial (2000). US commercial for Pokémon Stadium on Nintendo 64, released February 29, 2000 — the game that finally let Game Boy Pokémon battle in 3D on the TV via the Transfer Pak.
- — 'It's like smoking' — 60 Minutes Australia on Pokémon cards. 60 Minutes Australia's March 2000 story on parents and teachers wanting Pokémon cards banned from schools, comparing the trading craze to an addiction — the moral panic in full flight.
- — Pokémon Trading Card Game (GBC) English commercial (2000). English commercial for Pokémon Trading Card Game on Game Boy Color, the digital version of the card game that reached North America in April 2000.
- — Pokémon 'First Facts' Kids' WB commercial (2000). A 'Pokémon First Facts' interstitial from Kids' WB broadcasts in 2000, recovered from a home VHS tape — filler trivia the network used to feed an insatiable audience.
- — Pokémon the Movie 2000 — trailer #2. The second US trailer for Pokémon: The Movie 2000, built around the prophecy 'the world will turn to Ash' — the sequel that proved 1999's box office was no fluke.
- — Pokémon the Movie 2000 — WB promotional special. The WB's 2000 promotional TV special for Pokémon: The Movie 2000 and its soundtrack — a period half-hour of hype, interviews and music tie-ins aired ahead of the film's release.
- — Pokémon the Movie 2000 TV spot #1. US television spot for Pokémon: The Movie 2000 from July 2000, when every ticket came with one of four exclusive trading cards to lure the TCG faithful into theaters.
- — Downtown Julie Brown at the Movie 2000 premiere. TV personality Downtown Julie Brown on the red carpet at the world premiere of Pokémon: The Movie 2000, days before its July 21, 2000 US release.
- — Ed Begley Jr. at the Movie 2000 premiere. Ed Begley Jr. and Pat Collins interviewed at the world premiere of Pokémon: The Movie 2000 in summer 2000 — another slice of celebrity red-carpet Pokémania.
- — Pokémon: The Movie 2000 — original theatrical trailer. Warner Bros.' theatrical trailer for Pokémon: The Movie 2000, in which disturbing the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres threatens the world's balance. It opened in the US on July 21, 2000.
- — The Making of Pokémon Live! (2000). Period behind-the-scenes featurette on Pokémon Live!, the multi-million-dollar stage musical with Ash, Pikachu and a MechaMew2, produced with Radio City Entertainment in 2000.
- — 'You, Me & Pokémon' — Pokémon Live! at Radio City (2000). The original cast performs 'You, Me & Pokémon' from Pokémon Live!, the stage musical created with Nintendo and Radio City Entertainment that toured North America from September 2000.
- — Pokémon de Panepon commercial (2000). Japanese commercial for 'Pokémon de Panepon' on Game Boy Color (September 2000), the Pokémon-skinned Panel de Pon puzzler released in the West as Pokémon Puzzle Challenge.
- — Pokémon Puzzle League USA commercial (2000). US commercial for Pokémon Puzzle League on Nintendo 64 (September 2000), a Western-only release that wrapped Panel de Pon gameplay in the anime's characters and voice cast.
- — Pokémon: The Johto Journeys — opening theme. The English opening theme of Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, the anime's third season, which brought the Johto region to Western TV in autumn 2000 alongside the Gold & Silver launch.
- — Pokémon Gold & Silver US TV commercial (2000). US TV commercial for Pokémon Gold & Silver, released in North America on October 15, 2000. The sequels sold 1.4 million copies in their first week in the US.
- — Burger King Pokémon Game Boy commercial (2000). Burger King commercial from 2000 for Pokémon Big Kids Meal toys promoting the Gold & Silver release — the chain returning to Pokémon a year after the great toy recall.
- — Hey You, Pikachu! US commercial (Fall 2000). US commercial for Hey You, Pikachu!, released November 6, 2000 with the N64 Voice Recognition Unit — Nintendo's bet that American kids would talk to their console.
- — Pokémon Gold & Silver toys USA commercial (2000). US commercial for the Pokémon Gold & Silver toy line from the holiday 2000 season, as the second generation refreshed the merchandising machine.
- — Pokémon Stadium Kin-Gin Japanese CM (2000). Japanese commercial for Pokémon Stadium Kin-Gin (released December 14, 2000 alongside a Pikachu-edition N64), the Gold & Silver generation's 3D battle stadium.
- — Pokémon Crystal Version CM (Dec 14, 2000). Japanese commercial for Pokémon Crystal, released December 14, 2000 — the first Pokémon game with animated battle sprites and the first to let players choose a female hero.
- — Pokémon Crystal × Lawson Japanese commercial (2000). Japanese Crystal commercial tied to the Lawson convenience-store chain, from the launch of the version that pioneered the Mobile Adapter GB link in Japan.
- — Pokémon 3: The Movie — trailer (Warner Bros.). Warner Bros.' trailer for Pokémon 3: The Movie — Spell of the Unown, in which the letter-shaped Unown warp reality around a grieving girl. It opened in the US on April 6, 2001.
- — Pokémon Stadium 2 commercial (2001). Commercial for Pokémon Stadium 2, the March 2001 N64 release that unified both Game Boy generations — all 251 Pokémon battling in 3D.
- — Pokémon 3: The Movie TV ad (2001). US television ad for Pokémon 3: The Movie as shown in 2001 — the third theatrical outing, arriving as Pokémania cooled from its 1999 fever pitch.
- — Celebi: Voice of the Forest — Japanese trailer (2001). Japanese trailer for the fourth Pokémon movie, 'Celebi: Voice of the Forest', which premiered in Japan on July 7, 2001 with the time-travelling mythical Pokémon Celebi.
- — Celebi: A Timeless Encounter — Japanese trailer. Japanese trailer for 'Celebi: A Timeless Encounter', the fourth Pokémon movie, released in Japan July 7, 2001.
- — Pokémon Crystal US TV commercial (2001). US TV commercial for Pokémon Crystal, released in North America on July 29, 2001 — the enhanced third version closing out the Game Boy Color generation.
- — Kids' WB 'Poké Balls' bumper — Johto League Champions (2001). Kids' WB bumper teasing the Pokémon: Johto League Champions season in 2001 — 'forged in the fires of Johto' — as the anime rolled into its fourth US season.
- — Pokémon Crystal UK TV ad (2001). UK television ad for Pokémon Crystal from its late-2001 European release, from an archive of period British and Irish video-game adverts.
- — Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — November 22, 2001. AP Archive footage of the November 22, 2001 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — the parade at which the giant Pikachu balloon made its debut flight over New York, two months after 9/11.
- — Pikachu balloon — first version, Macy's parade (2001). Footage of the original flying Pikachu balloon from its 2001 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut, sponsored by The Pokémon Company — Pikachu's induction into an American holiday institution.
- — Old Man glitch catches Missingno. — Pokémon Blue. Real-hardware capture of the Old Man glitch in Pokémon Blue, catching the scrambled Missingno. sprite that duplicated the sixth item in the bag.
- — Missingno. encounter — real Game Boy footage. Genuine Game Boy footage of triggering the Missingno. encounter in Pokémon Red — the surf-along-Cinnabar glitch that spread through 1999 schoolyards as playground folklore.
- — Holiday Hi-Jynx — the Jynx Christmas episode. Clip from 'Holiday Hi-Jynx', the Christmas episode built around Jynx — later pulled from rotation after the 2000 blackface criticism sparked by writer Carole Boston Weatherford.
- — 'How to Become a Pokémon Master' Kids' WB commercial (1999). 1999 commercial recorded off Kids' WB for Pokémon home video, transferred from a Batman Beyond broadcast VHS — a time capsule of the Saturday-morning ad block at peak Pokémania.
- — Pokémon — US syndication promos 1998–1999. A run of American syndication promos from Pokémon's first English season, preserved from VHS recordings of the original 1998–99 broadcasts.
