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This newspaper has turned 30, which are quite a few, but Pokémon already has 23 springs . Despite being one of those video games that many still associate children and that does not seem to have grown a little, it has a few very adult fans.

Junichi Masuda has been involved in all of them from the outset, first as a composer, then in design positions and finally as director and producer. He is an affable homber, who smiles and asks a journalist he doesn't know about his favorite Pokémon. He was also fond of looking for and capturing insects as a child , which, seen as seen, is clearly influenced him a lot.

The first Pokémon games that arrived in Spain did so in 1998 . They were Red and Blue, although in Japan, before they also had the Green and the Red (that version did not reach the West until its remake), and at that time, nobody gave two hard for the Game Freak project, a youth magazine that He evolved into a video game development studio.

" It took us six years to develop them and we were only nine people working on them. It was as if a group of friends were making a game for fun and [Green and Red] are the games I remember with more love," says the Japanese.

The success of Red and Blue was huge : 31 million copies sold. Gold and Silver, the next game pair (Pokémon games always go in pairs in their main saga), were equally successful. Like Ruby and Sapphire, like Diamond and Pearl, like Black and White, like X and Y and like Sun and Moon. In the meantime dynamic duo of video games, infinity of 'spin-off', too many to make a list.

23 years of Pokémon

Since the third installment, Shigeru Ohmori, Masuda's full-fledged successor , has also played a key role. "I came to Game Freak with Ruby and Sapphire and worked on several aspects, such as map design or communication system design." He is the director of Pokémon Sword and Shield, the new installment that will be released in November for the Nintendo Switch game console . Wherever Pokémon goes in the future, it will almost certainly depend on this man.

In all this time, the Pokémon saga has reached an unprecedented level, going from being merely a video game to a full-fledged cultural phenomenon at the level of names like Star Wars. The resemblance to the films is undeniable, since they have crossed the barriers of their original product in every possible way : animation series, movies, stuffed animals, toys, collectible cards, specialty stores around the world ...

If Star Wars fans already comb gray hair, the same could be said for Pokémon. And this has certain difficulties. Many fans reacted negatively to the new Star Wars movies and, with the last game, the fans have shouted in the sky because the graphics of the game are not as advanced as they would like and, above all, because they will not be available all Pokémon of the more than 800 that exist without including those that will make an appearance for the first time in Sword and Shield.

"We had decided the direction we wanted to continue with the game and this is not something that can be changed lightly. It is something that we discuss in the company, a process that involves many people and that is decided over a long time and many meetings. And we decided that this was the right direction and how we wanted to do things, "says Masuda.

And Ohmori adds: "Now that we have so many, it 's a very hard job to design new ones , but every time we make a new game, we make a new region, and new Pokémon always live there. It's a basic idea of ​​the games and we'll keep doing it. So". Another issue is that it is possible to capture them all at once in one game.

Closer to the players

Things have changed a lot since 1996. Then there were only 150 creatures, or 151, if we put on tiquismiquis. But the costs of making a video game have also changed : it is not the same to make a title with sprites and basic animations than to do it with large maps, more creatures and for more powerful consoles. But Ohmori is proud of the path they have taken to adapt to the times. "If you look at each Pokémon, each one has very different aspects and this is something that always makes me think about the ingenuity of our workers and everyone involved in the process."

Masuda adds another substantial difference with respect to the old days: " When we started making Pokémon games, then there were no social networks ." But far from seeing it as something negative, which could well after receiving death threats through Twitter because of the decision taken, he sees it as something positive. "The distance between the developers and the people who play them has been greatly shortened and it is something we have very much in mind. What social networks offer is a place for fans to have a voice and, personally, I think this is something very good".

Pokémon has always tried a little of that. If there are two versions of the games, in addition to perhaps pocketing a little more with each release if the most staunch fans buy both, it is so that creatures that are exclusive to each version could be exchanged . Meowth was not in Red Pokémon and Ekans did not appear in Blue Pokémon, but using a cable between the Game Boy, it was possible to exchange it between friends and thus have all the creatures.

That's how it was then and that's how it is today: Sirfetch will be exclusive to Pokémon Sword and Ponyta de Galar will be exclusive to Escudo. 'Get everyone' was the slogan of Pokémon for a long time , although now it seems that growing and developing them to be stronger is what it touches.

This clashes a bit with the mental image that many, including me, sometimes we have Pokémon because of the series of drawings. Come on, it's Pikachu's fault, so small, as cute and as recognizable as Mickey Mouse or Super Mario, but that in video games his thing would be to evolve him at some point to Raichu, who is stronger (and faster and stronger, than Pokémon have several combat characteristics) .

Although if you don't use your favorite Pokémon, stronger or less strong, it's also a bit your fault. In the words of Ohmori, "using smaller, weaker Pokémon, sometimes also depends on the abilities of each coach to employ them wisely and timely. For example, in the Pokémon world championships we have seen how a player very skillfully employed Togedemaru, a small Pokémon, but who knew how to use very effectively, something similar to what happens in the series of drawings ".

Oh yes, of course there are Pokémon competitions. Worldwide, and both with video games and with collectible cards. But there only the best players arrive, those who have trained the creatures almost studying them as a geneticist. Not all Pikachus are born equal , because their different personalities and hidden traces determine, to a large extent, how strong they can be.

For the most normal players to live that experience of the great championships, the new games have had a great impact on combat . One of its protagonists is a Pokémon world champion, which features a Charizard as a favorite Pokémon. So much so that he is able to turn it into a kind of Godzilla of fire, of great dimensions. Ohmori explains: "This is the Dinamax phenomenon, a way to increase the power of any Pokémon . If you use it at the right time, you can change the course of the fighting. Maybe that's how you can use creatures that don't seem the most viable , but that can be superffective in this context. "

A Pokémon set in Spain? "Who knows"

Pokémon Sword and Shield, at the head of its developers, is a game that revolves a little around this force, and according to them, that's why the new region of the Pokémon world in which the adventure takes place is based in the United Kingdom , more specifically, on the island of Great Britain: nothing from Northern Ireland. "Historically, the United Kingdom is the cradle of the industrial revolution, but also a place that has stood out a lot in several sports, so it seemed like a good choice."

Historically also, the United Kingdom is an empire that has lost its territories beyond the seas, like Spain. Wouldn't it be possible to make a Pokémon video game in Spain? "In the future, who knows," says Masuda, that something our country does know because it can sing the praises of Barcelona.

The future of Pokémon, whether they have a delivery in Spain or not, seems quite defined. And it almost seems that it will open more than ever. In Espada y Escudo, there is an area called Wild Area that, contrary to what was the standard in the saga, is open and can be explored in a different way, without following a fixed route. The rest of the game does follow the scheme that the games have had since its inception, but perhaps this is an anticipation of a future Pokémon game in the open world ?

Ohmori throws balls out in his response: "Every time we develop a game, we look at the opportunities we have on the table to do new things and to give life to the Pokémon and the worlds they inhabit and explore. If in the future we face to the opportunity to do things differently and fit our vision, if this worked, we would do it . "

Pokémon for a while

Whatever you do, it seems that Pokémon will continue to be a phenomenon with millions of followers around the world. Although Fortnite is the current generation video game of the Z generation, Pokémon never go out of style. Let them tell Pokémon Go, the mobile video game that was a phenomenon in 2016 and that, even today, still has very active players.

In addition, however much Fortnite wants, it is still not a video game that a father can give to his son having played him when he was a child . Maybe the cultural significance of Pokémon today is born of this particular situation. And hence also how hard it can be to make a new video game every time you play.

" The pressure with each new game is immense . Pokémon is a saga of games that has great deliveries behind it and we always try to create a new great game as we go," says Ohmori.

Pokémon Sword and Shield will raise the number of Pokémon above 900 and will be the first games in the main saga that comes to Switch, Nintendo's most successful console from the Wii. I would not like to be in his skin: they have to make the videogame that millions of children will receive as a Christmas or Kings gift worldwide. They do not seem to be afraid of this: "Even today, it is still very exciting to arrive on launch day ."

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