How many Pokémon are there in total in 2021, 25 years after it was released?
(The Pokémon Company)
It’s been 25 years since the release of Pokémon and it’s time to answer the all-important question, namely, how many of them are there?
If you were born in the 90s, then you know exactly what it meant to kids and teenagers around the world.
Now in its eighth generation, the franchise is ready to celebrate two and a half decades worth of Poké Balls, Pikachu, and trading cards. With the announcement of Post Malone joining Katy Perry for the virtual concert celebrating the 25th-anniversary last week, we thought we’d answer some key questions about the much-loved series.
Released back in Japan in 1996, the first generation of Pokémon had 151 characters on the roster. Two decades later, and there are now close to 900 different species, with 36 different regional forms. Many species of Pokémon are capable of evolving into larger and more powerful creatures.
These evolutions are accompanied by stat changes, generally a modest increase, and access to a wider variety of attacks. There are multiple ways to trigger an evolution including reaching a particular level, using a special stone, or learning a specific attack.
So how many are there exactly?
As of October (2020), there are official 893 Pokémon to date with Zarude being the latest one to join the franchise. Zarude is a genderless dual-type rogue monkey dark grass mythical Pokémon introduced in Generation VIII, and whilst Zarude is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon, they have an alternate form called Dada.
Zarude’s special strength stems from its love and care for an orphaned human child. The creature is also set to feature in the 23rd Pokémon movie.
The Pokémon Company
What’s the difference between mythical and legendary?
In general, there are two types of Pokémon that people care about: legendary and mythical.
Legendary Pokémon are characterised by their rarity and also their extraordinary power or important role in the lore of the world, as well as their inability to spawn offspring of its own evolutionary chain, and their presence in the lore.
Usually, only a single Legendary Pokémon exists in a game, and it is encountered by interacting with it outside of battle or by other special means. Some examples of Legendary Pokémon are Articuno, Raikou, Heatran, Mewtwo, Thundurus, and Zygarde.
A Mythical Pokémon is one that is told of in hushed whispers or grand tales and is only rumoured to actually exist. Technically speaking, they can also be Legendary Pokémon whose main method of acquisition is out-of-game, real-world distributions such as online events or codes given at specific stores. They cannot be encountered by just playing through a game.
Some examples of Mythical Pokémon are Mew, Victini, Jirachi, Arceus, and Volcanion.
