The Pokemon franchise has been going strong for more than two decades. It became a hit in the later 90s when it debuted and hasn't slowed down much since. As many trainers know, the series was built off of the idea of catching bugs and the feeling of having a complete collection. In order for players to fully beat a game, they need to fill up the entire Pokedex within it.

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This has gotten harder and harder as newer creatures were introduced, expanding the series' already vast catalog. Even with the popularity of the series, though, there are still a ton of lesser-known facts about the franchise out there.

10 The First Four Regions Were Based on Japan

Kanto andJ ohto Maps

Many people know that Kanto was based on the Kantō region in Japan, but what about the other games? Johto, Hoenn, and even Sinnoh were all based on different parts of the country, as well, and this trend didn't break until the debut of the Unova region, which was inspired by New York.

From then on out, the regions have been based on different parts of the world like France, Hawaii, and the U.K.

9 The World of Pokemon Was an Alternate Earth

Lt. Surge and Riachu

During the first few Pokemon games and anime seasons, there was actually mention of real-world locations. This includes Lt. Surge, who supposedly came from America, and Mew, who was found in South America. Other Pokemon Pokedex entries like Delibird also referred to real locations at one point.

While these references are now very rare, it's an interesting part of the older Pokemon franchise.

8 Pokemon May Have Had Ranks Originally

Comics Pokemon The Electric Tale Of Pikachu Pikachu Wearing Hat
Pokemon The Electric Tale Of Pikachu Pikachu Wearing Hat

Pokemon have been sorted into tiers for a long time by Pokemon fans, but there may have originally been plans for this in the core series. Pokemon Rarity ranking actually appeared in the comic series The Electric Tale of Pikachu, which was released in 1998.

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In this comic series, every Pokemon had a rarity rank assigned to them to show how common they were in the world.

7 There are Pokemon Arcade Machines

Mega Mewtwo X as it appears in Pokken Tournament

While the series has mostly stayed on consoles in the west, there have been Pokemon arcade machines for quite some time in Japan. In fact, western audiences were only recently treated to a Pokken Tournament arcade machine in 2015.

In Japan, the first Pokemon arcade machine debuted in 1999, with several other machines coming out in the years afterward, including Ga-Olé, Battrio, and Tretta.

6 There Was a Pokemon Crafts Software

Pokemon Studio Discs
via.retrocadegames.ecrater.com

One of the stranger ventures the series has had is into the worlds of crafts and photo editing software. There were two American-only PC programs released in 1999 called Pokemon Project Studio Red and Pokemon Project Studio Blue. These programs allowed users to make a variety of paper-based goodies.

Each version contained different Pokemon, and users with powerful printers could make everything from stickers to calendars.

5 There is an Older Version of Pokemon Cards

The prerelease Raichu card from the Pokemon TCG

The Pokemon TCG is extremely popular worldwide and has made its way into the news many times, thanks in part to the astronomical price of cards from the base and Jungle set. There were actually collectible cards before the TCG we know today that were released by Bandai Carddass in Japan.

These cards contained drawings of the Pokemon, but weren't designed to be played in an actual game.

4 Mythical Pokemon Were Always Around

Celebi eating some berries in a field in a Pokemon anime movie

The western Pokemon community went through a bit of a reorganization when Mythical Pokemon were officially categorized differently from Legendary Pokemon and included in translated versions of the series in the fifth generation — this divided Pokemon like Celebi into the Mythical category for the first time in the west.

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Mythical Pokemon had always been distinct in the Japanese versions of the games, and it's not clear why this change was ever made.

3 Even The Early Spin-offs Where Edited

Hey You Pikachu in Field With Gloom

The Pokemon franchise is well-known for the vast amount of censorship that it got during its early days. This didn't just affect the anime though — even the spin-off title, Hey You, Pikachu, got edited. This removed rice balls from the game, added in popcorn, and several types of flora were altered.

Changes were also made to Pokemon Stadium, but they more reflected the gameplay of the game.

2 The Series Started Development in 1990

Pokemon Green Cover

While it may seem like companies are constantly cranking out games today, Pokemon went through a long initial development process. The games started being developed in 1990, and it wasn't until February of 1996 that both Pokemon Green and Pokemon Red were released in Japan.

While Green never made its way overseas, players did get Pokemon LeafGreen as one of the remakes of the Kanto region for Gameboy Advance.

1 Mew is The First Pokemon

A level 100 Mew in Pokémon Red & Blue

Mew was literally the very first Pokemon. Mew was actually the first registered trademark years before the actual Pokemon games got their trademarks. This is pretty interesting since the design for Mew didn't come about until a few weeks before the games finished development.

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