Generation II
Winds of new beginnings
Almost since the very beginning of the series, it had been apparent that the first 151 Pokémon would not be the last. Ho-Oh was seen as early as the first episode of the anime, Togepi was owned by a main character, and others like Marill, Snubbull and Donphan were seen in the first movie. Later, when the second generation of Pokémon was drawing nearer, others like Lugia, Slowking and Elekid made their way to the second movie.
On November 21, 1999, Nintendo of Japan released Gold and Silver Versions for the then-new Game Boy Color. This time, Trainers were invited to the land of Johto, where 100 more Pokémon were waiting to be captured. The new games enhanced the Pokémon gaming experience by adding many new features, the most famous likely being the ability for Pokémon to have different genders, in turn allowing them to breed. A time system was also introduced, with a real-time clock allowing different events to happen during the day, at night, and in the morning, as well as on certain days of the week. Another important addition was the friendship system. Shiny Pokémon also first appeared, most notably a Red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage. Trainers could also return to Kanto and face the Gym Leaders that were present in the original games. Pokémon Gold and Silver made its way to North America on October 11, 2000.
The anime followed, of course, and Ash and his friends also arrived at Johto in an episode that aired in Japan on October 14, 1999 and in the US on October 14, 2000. Spell of the Unown: Entei was then released to theaters on July 8, 2000 in Japan and on April 6, 2001 in North America, featuring the Legendary Entei.
A new trading card set called Neo Genesis featured the first Generation II Pokémon to the Trading Card Game. It was released in Japan on December 10, 1999 and in the United States on December 16, 2000.
A sequel to Pokémon Puzzle League was released on September 21, 2000 for Game Boy Color, this time in Japan, titled Pokémon Puzzle Challenge. It made its way to North America on December 4, 2000.
On December 14, 2000, Pokémon Stadium 2, bringing the Generation II Pokémon into full 3D for the first time. This game reached North America on March 25, 2001.
Like Pokémon Yellow, a third version was made called Pokémon Crystal, which was released in Japan on December 14, 2000 and in North America on July 21, 2001. Pokémon Crystal had several notable changes from Gold and Silver. Suicune was the game mascot and the focus of the plot. Crystal was also the first portable Pokémon game to feature animations for every Pokémon. Trainers in Japan received the added bonus of being able to trade, battle, and even obtain the Legendary Pokémon Celebi wirelessly by using a cell phone to connect to the Pokémon Mobile System GB. Trainers were also, for the first time, allowed to choose their character's gender.
Anime and manga in GS
On December 30, 2000, the first feature-length special of the Pokémon anime was released in Japan as a sequel to Mewtwo Strikes Back, titled Mewtwo Returns. It was later released on DVD in the United States on December 5, 2001.
In June 2000, a manga series by Muneo Saitō titled Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys was published in Japan. This manga followed the plot of the Generation II games, before abruptly ending after three volumes with very little resolution. Another new manga series by Takashi Teshirogi based on the anime's new seasons called Ash & Pikachu was published on February 26, 2001.
Another anime movie, Celebi: The Voice of the Forest, debuted in theaters in Japan on July 7, 2001, and in North America on October 25, 2002. It featured two Legendary Pokémon prominent in Pokémon Crystal: Celebi and Suicune.
The Pokémon Adventures manga finally caught up to the second generation on August 8, 2001, when Volume 8 was published in Japan, starting a new chapter. This chapter was much longer than the previous chapters of the series, lasting no less than 7 full volumes. Additionally, this is the only volume to share its release date with future volumes in Japanese, being that the two after it were published at the same time.
Raikou, the only member of the Legendary beasts yet to be featured in an anime movie at the time, received its own made-for-TV special, The Legend of Thunder!, on December 30, 2001. This special didn't feature Ash and his friends, but rather new characters based on the player characters of the second generation.
On July 13, 2002, the fifth and final movie of the original series, Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, was released in Japanese theaters. Distributed on limited release by Miramax Films, it opened in select American theaters on May 16, 2003.
Generation III
Advancing to a new age
In July 2001 an episode of the anime aired in Japan featuring a Pokémon never previously seen - Kecleon. Soon, Kecleon and others like Wynaut, Azurill, Duskull and Volbeat showed up in theaters in two Pikachu shorts while Wailmer, Latias and Latios were featured in the fifth Pokémon movie. During the Silver Conference Ash battled Harrison, a Trainer from Littleroot Town in Hoenn. Professor Birch, along with other Pokémon, made a cameo in Johto Photo Finish. Through this, it became known that the next generation of Pokémon was just around the corner.
Indeed, a major overhaul of the main game series occurred when Pokémon arrived on the Game Boy Advance on November 21, 2002 when Ruby and Sapphire Versions were released in Japan. Trainers found themselves in the southern land called Hoenn where 135 new Pokémon were waiting to be discovered. The games reached North America on March 18, 2003 and had many new features, the most prominent being Pokémon Contests, Double Battles, Pokémon Abilities and Natures for each Pokémon, along with the reform of effort values and individual values. Also introduced in these versions were more types of weather and two new villainous teams, Team Magma and Team Aqua. Due to the extensive changes to the system, however, this generation was not compatible with earlier generations.
The anime began a new series, Advanced Generation series, which started in Japan on the same day as the release of the games and reached North America almost a year later. A great deal was changed in this series, including the introduction of a new main character, May, based on her game counterpart. Two new movies were produced during the time in Hoenn: Jirachi: Wish Maker (which was released on July 19, 2003 in Japan and on June 1, 2004 on video and DVD in North America) and Destiny Deoxys (which was released on July 17, 2004 in Japan and on January 22, 2005 on North American television).
Around the same time of the Advanced Generation series, a show called Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station began to air weekly in Japan, focusing not on Ash, but on other characters of the anime, such as Misty, Brock, Tracey, Gary, Ritchie, Casey and Sakura. The English dubbed version, Pokémon Chronicles, first aired in the United Kingdom in May 2005, finally dubbing The Legend of Thunder! special to English along the way, three and a half years after its original Japanese airing.
Nintendo transferred the Trading Card Game license from Wizards of the Coast to itself in 2003, and released its first set on January 31, introducing new game mechanics and a new card design. This set was released in North America on June 18, 2003.
More spin-offs
To solve the problem of limited Pokémon storage in the continuously growing Pokémon world, Pokémon Box Ruby & Sapphire was released May 30, 2003 in Japan, July 11, 2004 in North America, allowing Trainers to store up to 1,500 Pokémon from their Generation III games.
A small spin-off game named Pokémon Channel for GameCube was released in Japan on July 13, 2003. It focused on a TV-broadcasting network airing a variety of Pokémon programs, with the player playing the role of the test audience. The game also included a unique anime episode, Pichu Bros. in Party Panic. Pokémon Channel reached North America on December 1, 2003.
On July 28, 2003, Volume 15 of the Pokémon Adventures manga was first published, starting another chapter, this one following the third generation's story. This was the first chapter in the series not to feature previously introduced characters. Other manga series, such as Ash & Pikachu, have also moved into the RS era around the same time.
A sequel to Pokémon Pinball met the third generation in Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire for Game Boy Advance on August 1, 2003 in Japan and on August 23, 2003 in North America.
The Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga series received a third generation sequel in Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire, the first volume of which was first released on September 25, 2003. Magical Pokémon Journey has also received a sequel in the form of Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪, first published on December 29, 2003.
The 3D version of Generation III came in the form of Pokémon Colosseum on November 21, 2003 in Japan and March 22nd, 2004 in North America on the GameCube. Unlike the Pokémon Stadium series, this game also featured an RPG taking place in the desolate region of Orre. The game's main addition to the growing Pokémon universe was Shadow Pokémon.
Back to Kanto and onward to the Battle Frontier
On January 29, 2004, two new games were released in Japan: Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. They arrived in North America on September 9, 2004, and were remakes of Pokémon Red and Green which brought the games up to Generation III standards, as well as adding wireless connectivity (through a wireless adapter for the Game Boy Advance) and a new region — the Sevii Islands. These games also gave the event Pokémon Deoxys two additional forms, which could only be obtained by moving Deoxys to a FireRed or LeafGreen cartridge.
Not yet finished with the Hoenn story, Game Freak developed a third version to complement Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon Emerald. This game was released in Japan on September 16, 2004, and in North America on May 1, 2005. Emerald featured the same wireless connectivity as FireRed and LeafGreen, as well as an updated version of Hoenn with many new features, including the Hoenn Battle Frontier, the ability to re-battle Gym Leaders, an altered plot, and animations for all Pokémon, as in Crystal.
The anime caught up with both the Generation I remakes and Emerald by having the group travel back to Kanto and face the Kanto Battle Frontier there. During this season's time two more movies were produced: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (premiering in Japan on July 16, 2005) and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (debuting in Japanese cinemas on July 15, 2006).
On August 28, 2006, Volume 22 of the Pokémon Adventures manga was published, starting the FireRed & LeafGreen chapter, and on June 23, 2007, Volume 26 started the Emerald chapter. Another short manga series called Pokémon Battle Frontier was written by Shigekatsu Ihara, focusing on the Battle Frontier.
Original new concepts
A spin-off racing game called Pokémon Dash was released in Japan on December 2, 2004 and in North America on March 14, 2005. It was the first of many Pokémon games made for the Nintendo DS.
On August 4, 2005, Trainers were invited back to Orre in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for the Nintendo GameCube, a sequel to Pokémon Colosseum taking place about five years later. This game found its way to North America on October 3, 2005.
A spin-off puzzle game, Pokémon Trozei!, was released on October 20, 2005 in Japan and on March 6, 2006 in North America. The game had a story mode, which followed Lucy Fleetfoot as she attempted to take down the Phobos Battalion.
Starting with the TCG expansion EX Delta Species, which was released on October 28, 2005 in Japan and only three days later in the United States, a new special kind of Pokémon called δ Delta Species was introduced. δ Delta Species Pokémon were found only in a few TCG expansions, and were given a backstory involving a new region called Holon.
A new style of play saw light on November 17, 2005, with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team — a pair of games, one for Game Boy Advance and one for Nintendo DS — in which the player is turned into a Pokémon. The games, released in North America on September 18, 2006, received adaptations in the anime episode SS019 and the manga series Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team.
Another new twist on Pokémon came in the spin-off Nintendo DS game Pokémon Ranger on March 23, 2006. This time, players didn't play as regular Pokémon Trainers, but as Pokémon Rangers traveling the land of Fiore with a device called the Capture Styler instead of Poké Balls. It was released in North America on October 30, 2006. The game was also promoted in the anime through the appearance of Pokémon Rangers in the main series, a special episode and the ninth movie, and in a short manga series.
Ten years of Pokémon
2006 was marked officially as Pokémon's tenth anniversary, and was celebrated as such in many ways, such as Journey Across America. Among other things, an English CD was released titled Pokémon X - 10 Years of Pokémon.
On April 29, 2006, a special episode of the anime called The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon was broadcast in the United States. This was the first episode to use The Pokémon Company International's new voice actors (Pokémon USA at the time), causing big controversy among the Pokémon fan community. The special was eventually broadcast in Japan as streaming video from the TV Tokyo Anitele web site from October 13 to October 31, 2006.
In fall 2006, another section of the Pokémon franchise was created in the form of the Pokémon Trading Figure Game in Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia, made by Kaiyodo. The figures reached North America and Japan in 2007.