The Story of Pokémon

很多人都喜爱“宝可梦”,但是你知道宝可梦的故事是如何开始的吗?Many people love 'Pokémon', but do you know how the story of Pokémon began?
故事要从日本的一个小男孩说起。The story starts with a little boy from Japan.他的名字叫田尻智。His name is Satoshi Tajiri.小时候,他最喜欢做的事就是在森林里捕捉昆虫。When he was a child, his favorite thing to do was to catch insects in the forest.他觉得发现各种不同的虫子,然后跟朋友们交换收集,乐趣无穷。He felt that discovering various different insects, then exchanging and collecting them with friends, was endlessly fun.
后来,田尻智长大了,Later, Tajiri grew up,他居住的城市不断扩张,the city he lived in constantly expanded,森林渐渐被高楼和马路取代,forests were gradually replaced by high buildings and roads,昆虫也越来越稀少。insects also became increasingly rare.这让他感到有些失落。This made him feel somewhat lost.他由衷地希望,现在的孩子们也能体验到他童年时捕捉昆虫的那份快乐。He sincerely hoped that today's children could also experience the joy of catching insects from his childhood.
于是他想:So he thought:“如果我能够创造一种游戏,If I could create a kind of game,让孩子们在游戏中同样感受到捕捉和交换的乐趣,letting children feel the same fun of capturing and exchanging in the game,那该多好!”that would be great!
20世纪90年代初,他与朋友们共同创作了一款名为“口袋妖怪”(后来正式称为“宝可梦”)的游戏。In the early 1990s, he and his friends together created a game called 'Pocket Monsters' (later officially known as 'Pokémon').在这个游戏世界里,玩家可以探索广阔天地,捕捉各种可爱的“怪兽”,训练它们,并与朋友们交换。In this game world, players can explore vast lands, catch various cute 'monsters', train them, and exchange with friends.
1996年,宝可梦游戏率先在日本正式发售,很快便风靡全国。In 1996, the Pokémon game was first officially released in Japan, and soon became popular nationwide.此后,更多形态各异的宝可梦被创造出来,至今种类已超过一千种!After that, more Pokémon with various forms were created, and to this day, there are over a thousand species!
1997年,宝可梦动画系列也诞生了。In 1997, the Pokémon anime series was also born.故事的主角名叫“小智”,他还有一位可爱又勇敢的宝可梦伙伴“皮卡丘”。The story's protagonist is named 'Ash', and he has a cute and brave Pokémon partner 'Pikachu'.皮卡丘因其独特的魅力赢得了无数人的喜爱。Pikachu won the love of countless people due to its unique charm.
渐渐地,宝可梦超越了游戏和动画的范畴,发展成为一种风靡全球的文化现象。Gradually, Pokémon transcended the scope of games and anime, developing into a global cultural phenomenon.
所以,下次当你沉浸在宝可梦的世界时,不妨回想一下:So, next time when you are immersed in the world of Pokémon, why not recall:这个风靡全球的游戏,其最初的灵感,this globally popular game, its initial inspiration,仅仅源于一个小男孩想要重现童年捕捉昆虫乐趣的单纯愿望。merely originated from a little boy's simple wish to recreate the fun of catching insects in his childhood.
Want to read along with audio? Every story in the Literate Chinese app is narrated by a native speaker — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin — so you can listen while you read, and tap any word to save it as a flashcard. See what's in the app.
