Well do you? No need to play coy – you know what we're talking about. Do you want to be the very best? Like no one ever was? The thing about Pokemon's many elements is that they're all interconnected, and just seeing screenshots or the logo is often enough to send that opening G power chord ringing out in your head, to evoke visions of Ash turning his cap backwards in the anime, or to remind you of that shiny Charizard card you just couldn't get for love nor money back in the day. Pokemon launched on a worldwide scale not just as a video game but as a multimedia offensive. Supported by a TV show, merchandise and other products following the huge success of its original Japanese launch, there was just no way it could fail. It was everywhere and in the late '90s, you could barely move without seeing Pikachu's beaming little face somewhere.
But while that might have been the start of the phenomenon as we know it, our story begins earlier. Well, a lot earlier – all the way back in 1990, in fact, or even earlier if you want to track the origins of the most important people behind the franchise. "Mr [Satoshi] Tajiri was the founder of Game Freak and I was a friend of his when I was a student," recalls veteran Game Freak artist Ken Sugimori, the art director and character designer on pretty much all of the games, and who has been responsible for official art assets.
