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look at the little baby

I mean, we’re stuffing creatures of various sizes and shapes into gatchapon capsules for crying out loud. It’s just a little strange.

The concept of the Pokéball dates back at least as early as the “Capsule Monsters” phase of Pokémon in 1990. Although, there were aesthetic differences, the general purpose was the same.

The Pokéball concept a lot of people would be most familiar with is the anime portrayal. Spheres roughly the size of baseball that shrink to an easily size more akin to a ping pong ball. With a hinge and a button on the front of the ball. But this is far from the only Pokéball concept in the franchise.

Within the Pokémon world itself, the Pokéball as we know it today came into existence somewhere around 300 years ago. With 1925 being given as the exact date for the modern Pokéball. Invented by Professor Westwood of Celadon Academy, (this information comes The Encyclopedia Pokémonica And a Pokémon Daisuki Club site according to Bulbapedia.). But Pokéball style devices and analogues exist even further back. With the true invention of the “Pokéball” being traced back to Johto.

Anyone who’s played Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold or SoulSilver versions can tell you about Apricorns. A fruit that can be found throughout Johto and turned into special Pokéballs by Kurt is Azalea Town. And according to various sources, including the games themselves, this method is how Pokéballs were crafted before the mass produced versions made by Silph Co. and yet still, we find that there were similar methods of capture before even this invention. Especially in the Anime series.

Episode 72 of the original series, “The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis”. Depicts several ancient artifacts which contained ginormous Pokémon that were considered deities by the ancient people of Pokémopolis. In particular, a Giant Gengar, Alakazam and JigglyPuff. Each contained in their own uniquely shaped capsule.

Episode 178 of Advanced Generation, “Battling the Enemy Within!”. Also depicts an ancient device with a very similar appearance to a Pokéball. Discovered in the Tomb of the King of Pokélantis. It surprisingly housed, not a Pokémon. But the spirit of the wicked king himself! Although it is rumored the king once caught Ho-Oh with this device.

Movie 04, “Pokémon 4Ever”. Depicts a Pokéball dating back at least 40 years belonging to a time traveling boy named Sam. Whether this is how all pokeballs worked at the time or is simply a homemade variant by Sam is unknown. (But if you know the plot twist of this film, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.)

Movie 08. “Lucario and the Mystery of Mew”. Depicts a curious example of Pokémon storage. With A Lucario belonging to Sir Aaron being stored in the crystal on Sir Aaron’s staff in manner very similar to a Pokéball for hundreds of years.

In the end, this is only the briefest of history to an item we all don’t really question. We just accept that it exists and is part of the Pokémon world. But this little sphere has quite the history.

There is one more tidbit I shall leave you with. You might think that Pokéballs are named after Pokémon. And while this is most likely true IRL, this is not the case in canon. Apparently the name “Pocket Monsters” only came around after the invention of the “Pocket Ball”. Before that, Pokémon were simply known as Maju. Or magical creatures.

Just remember guys, there’s a whole history of Pokémon yet to be explored. This is just one of many possibilities.

-Star Anon ⭐

L: "Of course Dear~"

L and G: "Ours Match!"

Lust smells of Roses and Lillis

Greed smells of Lemon and Citrus

"Darling please~

My style is 'If I'm not blinding someone...

...I don't want it'.

Game Freak as a company had existed for a while before their hit monster taming franchise came into being. Releasing games like The NES Puzzle game, “Yoshi” in 1991 and the Sega Genesis Platformer, “Pulseman” in 1994. But company co-founder Satoshi Tajiri had been pitching his Bug Catching inspired Monster Taming RPG since as early as 1990 under the Title: Capsule Monsters.

Even this early into the franchise’s history, we can already see many similarities between Capsule Monsters and Pokémon. Even semi-recognizable faces like what could be the earliest known versions of Gengar and Nidoran, appearing much like they would in the intro of Red, Blue and Geeen.

Other Pokémon, such as Lapras and Slowbro can be spotted in this early design phase. Even the planned map bears a striking resemblance to the Kanto map in the final product.

But even so, many differences can be spotted between this early draft and the final versions the world would finally see.

The name “Capsule Monsters” is drawn from Gatchapon Machines. Or what some in the west might simply know as Toy Vending Machines. Y’know the ones. You put a coin in, turn the handle and out pops a little toy in a capsule. The name Gatchapon actually comes from a combination of Japanese onomatopoeia for the sounds of cranking the machine (Gatcha) and the sound of the capsule hitting the tray (Pon). And I’m willing to bet at least a few of you have made the connection between those toy capsules and the iconic Pokéball. Although, I’m also willing to bet that Tajiri-San was a little inspired by the Capsule Kaiju featured in the 60s Tokusatsu program, “Ultraseven”. Heck, pokemon isn’t even the only Monster Catching RPG to draw inspiration from Gatchapon. As fans of Yo-Kai Watch are probably aware.

As you can see in this early design, the Capsule functions and appears a little closer to a Gatchapon capsule. The Button used to open the capsule is also located on the top. And the Capsule appears to split in two, instead of merely opening on a hinge. Players of the first two generations probably remember Pokéballs in the games bearing some similar differences. There’s also a creature named Rokku on this page bearing a similar design to a few Pokémon. Including Rhydon and SandSlash.

Speaking of Rhydon, it’s semi-common knowledge that Rhydon was one of the first Pokémon ever designed. And here we see an exceptionally early design for the Monster. Exploring a cave-like area with it’s trainer. In addition, we also see Monster eggs and an infant monster in this panel. Indicating that some form of monster breeding was desired from the outset of the series. Even though this feature wouldn’t be implemented till Pokémon Gold and Silver.

Something interesting to note is that it is presumed that wild monsters were not caught through combat, since the player was planned to have a “charisma” stat (among other stats) that would have to be raised in order to entice stronger monsters to join you. The Player stats, in addition to the Whip(!?) in the above art also indicate that the Player might’ve had to fight wild monsters to tame them. Of course, much of this is my own speculation from the available information. So it would be wise not to repeat my words as Pokémon Gospel.

Although, this probably explains a number of trainers in the early games who carried whips as well. Food for thought.

Something else to note is that concept of paired games and even player vs player battles were not planned. Instead, trading between copies of the game was to be encouraged through the use of “mirage monsters”. Monster with an extremely low encounter rate. One such monster mentioned was a Green Dragon in a dungeon that reportedly would’ve taken players 2 hours to find and catch. Yikes.

Another interesting tidbit is the absence of Pokémon Centers. Instead, players would sleep at a Hotel in their own room, complete with a healing device for their captured monsters. Similar to machines seen in the final games. I also believe that this could further enhance my “player vs monster battles theory”, since the player might’ve also recovered health in this fashion.

A final interesting note to end on is the concept of the Pokemart. Which while it seems to serve a similar service to the final version. Has an interesting key difference.

While this is still where the character would Purchase Capsules and Presumably healing items, the shops also appear to have been planned to at one point, sell monsters too. I don’t have much else to add here. It’s just an interesting concept reminiscent of the Game Corner but on a larger scale.

It probably easy to see how many of these design aspects of Capsule Monsters would be cleansed up, altered or even removed entirely. But the one question I have left to answer is, why the name change? Well, simply put, Tajiri-San had difficulty trademarking the name. Presumably due similar concepts already existing. This lead to Tajiri-San changing the name first to “CapuMon” and later, to “Pocket Monsters”. Which would eventually be shortened worldwide to become the phenomenon we all know and love. “Pokémon.”

I hope you enjoyed this initial post for PokéOdditites! We’ll be back with tons more to discuss. Including more early Pokémon work, beta content, Manga and Anime, Lore, Glitches, heck. Maybe I’ll even branch off from Pokémon every once in a while to discuss other Game Freak properties. The possibilities and opportunities are endless with this franchise!

Special Thanks to Bulbapedia, whom without their existence, I would’ve never learned of this interesting subject, if you want to know more, that’s a good place to start!