<P> It is implied by Takeshi Shudo, the initial writer for the anime, that the creators of Pokémon had not anticipated the franchise would become so popular, and there were plans to end the series by the Gold and Silver era . In his blog, Shudo reveals he even had an ending drafted for the anime, in which the last episode reveals an elderly Ash Ketchum hallucinated the entire events of the show . This is supported in an interview with president of The Pokémon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara, who predicted the anime would end by 1998 . He also stated he initially did not intend on making "any more Pokémon titles" after Gold and Silver and would have moved on to other projects . However the games' success following their release prompted Ishinhara to continue work on the series . </P> <P> The original Pokémon games were role - playing games (RPGs) with an element of strategy, and were created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy . These RPGs, and their sequels, remakes, and English language translations, are still considered the "main" Pokémon games, and the games which most fans of the series are referring to when they use the term "Pokémon games". All of the licensed Pokémon properties overseen by The Pokémon Company International are divided roughly by generation . These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; every several years, when an official sequel in the main RPG series is released that features new Pokémon, characters, and gameplay concepts, that sequel is considered the start of a new generation of the franchise . The main games and their spin - offs, the anime, manga, and trading card game are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins . The franchise began the seventh generation on November 18, 2016 . </P> <P> The Pokémon franchise started off in its first generation with its initial release of Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori ("Red" and "Green", respectively) for the Game Boy in Japan on February 27, 1996 . When these games proved extremely popular, an enhanced Ao ("Blue") version was released sometime after, and the Ao version was reprogrammed as Pokémon Red and Blue for international release . The games launched in the United States on September 30, 1998 . The original Aka and Midori versions were never released outside Japan . Afterwards, a further enhanced version titled Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition was released to partially take advantage of the color palette of the Game Boy Color, as well as to feature more elements from the popular Pokémon anime . This first generation of games introduced the original 151 species of Pokémon, in National Pokédex order, encompassing all Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mew . It also introduced the basic game concepts of capturing, training, battling, and trading Pokémon with both computer and human players . These versions of the games take place within the fictional Kanto region, inspired by the real world Kantō region of Japan, though the name "Kanto" was not used until the second generation . </P> <P> The second generation of Pokémon began in 1999 with the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver for Game Boy Color . Like the previous generation, an enhanced version titled Pokémon Crystal was later released . The second generation introduced 100 new species of Pokémon, starting with Chikorita and ending with Celebi . The Pokédex totaled 251 Pokémon to collect, train, and battle, set in Johto, inspired by Japan's Kansai region . The Pokémon mini is a handheld game console released in November 2001 in North America, December 2001 in Japan, and 2002 in Europe . </P>

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