Dateline: 11/29/99
We all know Pokémon - we talk about it incessantly in chat, I collect them, you collect them....but do we all know the Pokemon story?
Ash Ketchum is the human protagonist (star) of the story, and he's a kid. His goal in life, at least for right now, is to catch as many wild Pokémon as possible, and become a Master Trainer. To catch a Pokemon, he has to challenge it with one of his own Pokemon. If he wins, the opponent gets captured into Ash's Pokémon.
However, the Pokémon don't just hop happily into the Pokéball, at least most of them don't. Each Pokémon possess special powers and abilities, and that is where training comes in.
Ash isn't the only Pokémon trainer out there; his friends Misty and Brock join him on his adventures. Professor Oak is the dude who gets Ash started by giving him his first Pokémon, Pikachu. The team started out when Professor Oak, tired and old and unable to catch all the Pokémon, decided to let his grandson, Gary Oak, and Ash each take one Pokémon. The show has a typical good/bad theme, with Ash (good guys) trying to keep their Pokémon from being defeated by Team Rocket (bad guys).
Pokémon, or Pocket Monsters, come in 8 different species. These are: Water, Psychic, Fighting, Ghost, Grass, Fire, Bug, and Flying. The species each have many Pokémon members, and each species group has special abilities and powers. Check out this site for a complete listing of Pokémon by species group. So - that's the basic storyline of where the Pokémon came from. If you wanna see a complete list of Pokémon with their pictures and abilities, go to http://pokemon.com and click on Pokedex.