After seeing the Pokémon movie, a young boy is amazed to discover that he has turned into the star.

After seeing the Pokémon movie, a young boy is amazed to discover that he has turned into the star.

Initially developed in Japan by Nintendo as a computer game, Pokémon swept the globe in the late 1990s. Based on a narrative in which a group of children capture, train, and do battle with over a hundred imaginary creatures, Pokémon quickly diversified into an array of popular products including comic books, a TV show, movies, trading cards, stickers, toys, and clothing. Pokémon eventually became the top grossing children's product of all time. Yet the phenomenon fizzled as quickly as it had ignited. By 2002, the Pokémon craze was mostly over. Pikachu’s Global Adventure describes the spectacular, complex, and unpredictable rise and fall of Pokémon in countries around the world. In analyzing the popularity of Pokémon, this innovative volume addresses core debates about the globalization of popular culture and about children’s consumption of mass-produced culture. Topics explored include the origins of Pokémon in Japan’s valorization of cuteness and traditions of insect collecting and anime; the efforts of Japanese producers and American marketers to localize it for foreign markets by muting its sex, violence, moral ambiguity, and general feeling of Japaneseness; debates about children’s vulnerability versus agency as consumers; and the contentious question of Pokémon’s educational value and place in school. The contributors include teachers as well as scholars from the fields of anthropology, media studies, sociology, and education. Tracking the reception of Pokémon in Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Israel, they emphasize its significance as the first Japanese cultural product to enjoy substantial worldwide success and challenge western dominance in the global production and circulation of cultural goods. Contributors. Anne Allison, Linda-Renée Bloch, Helen Bromley, Gilles Brougere, David Buckingham, Koichi Iwabuchi, Hirofumi Katsuno, Dafna Lemish, Jeffrey Maret, Julian Sefton-Green, Joseph Tobin, Samuel Tobin, Rebekah Willet, Christine Yano

Pikachu is sick. He has too much electricity and he's zapping everything in sight! He cannot go outside and play. He has to stay in and rest. But all of this doesn't stop team rocket from trying to steal pikachu! Can pikachu's new friends help him hide? Or will team rocket finally catch the electric pokeacute.

The owner of the biggest Pokémon collection in the world (Guinness World Record) casts an eye over some of the most interesting items relating to a bona fide pop culture phenomena.

Join Ash and friends on a fun packed musical adventure to become a Pokémon master

The most famous Pokemon--or "pocket monster"--is featured in an amusing yarn. Readers can follow the mousy-looking Pikachu, Pokemon #25, through a whimsical sort of day. Color illustrations throughout.