Pokemon Music: An Introduction
Pokemon is a global media sensation that may seem like it needs no introduction, but it does. The series spans so many different types of media--from anime to manga (Japanese comics) to video games to card games--that it is easy for an unfamiliar person to confuse the different versions of its story and world. As most newbies are probably most familiar with it through the anime or the recent mobile game Pokemon Go, I think it is important to establish the particulars of the Nintendo handheld video games.
Pokemon in all its forms revolves around the idea of Pokemon battling. Players collect different Pokemon monsters who each have different powers: often based on elemental powers--such as water, fire, wind ("Flying") and earth-based ("Ground") abilities--or on magical powers and the supernatural (such as the Psychic, Dragon, Ghost and Fairy types). These Pokemon are weak or strong to other Pokemon in an extremely advanced game of rock, paper and scissors: for example, Grass types are weak to Fire types, who are weak to Water types, who are in turn weak to Grass types. Fighting types (who have martial-arts-based abilities) are weak to Psychic types, who are weak to Dark types (who use underhanded, sneaky moves like stealing from and tricking their opponents), who are in turn weak to Fighting types. Pokemon players best the game both by catching as many Pokemon as possible, and by creating well-rounded battle teams so that they can defeat any opponent. There is also usually a challenge involving defeating some criminal organization, ranging from Mafia-like groups like Team Rocket (in the first two generations of games) to ideologically-motivated groups (most of the subsequent generations).
Another key component of the game is exploring the world of each game. Pokemon games are based on real-world locations, mostly in Japan (as in all the games explored in this project), but also in other parts of the world such as New York, Hawaii and France. This allows them to collect different types of Pokemon who reside in different environments (such as Rock and Ground Pokemon who live in caves, Steel and Electric types in power plants, or Water Pokemon in--of course--bodies of water). Each game world is made up of different cities and natural obstacles, all coming with their own beauty and challenges.
These two features comprise the main features of music in the Pokemon games: battling and location-based themes. Each type of Pokemon battle, whether with a wild Pokemon (that the player is trying to catch), an ordinary trainer, or the type specialist trainers called "gym leaders," has its own music. It is usually short and repetitive, because of the indeterminate length of battles. Each location also has its own music, designed to give some indication of the color and character of a particular location. Cities, caves and bodies of water each have similar music. One more component is based on action: for example, if the character is riding their bike, surfing (riding a Water Pokemon over a body of water), or even swimming underwater.
Pokemon games also include some forms of diegetic music (music that exists within the game world). Pokemon can use music-based attacks like Sing, which lulls the opponent to sleep with a lullaby, making them unable to fight. There are musical items such as the Poke Flute, which wakes Pokemon from sleep. The most extensive diegetic music feature in the games is the Radio feature, premiering in the second generation, Gold/Silver/Crystal. This allows players to listen to all sorts of different musical themes, sometimes with in-game effects.
As Pokemon fandom has aged and the game consoles have grown up with them, Pokemon has also "remade" some of its older games, to capitalize on the more sophisticated technology. This means updating the music to allow for larger storage space. Typically, this means re-orchestrating the music to give a better idea of how it would sound as "real" music. This connects to the issues of authenticity discussed in the "transcription styles" page. These changes can give players a better idea of which "real instruments" they should transcribe the music for, or can also disrupt their ideas for how it "should" sound. It is not unlike when a popular book is made into a movie, and the characters don't look how you imagined in your head.
The Pokemon game makers seem to be aware of how fans receive their music. The second generation remakes, Heart Gold/Soul Silver, included an unlockable radio station where players can listen to music from the original versions of the games, referencing the nostalgic popularity of the games' music and breaking the fourth wall. It has no in-game effects like the other music stations in the game. It is simply for fun.
