Parents will soon be able to start their kids on a Pokémon journey from a younger age than ever, as the new Pokémon Primers books aim to teach young children about counting and the alphabet with a Pokémon slant. At 25, Pokémon is now old enough to rent a car, but it continues to attract fans of all ages.
The Pokémon video games are the backbone of the franchise, and they're still aimed at kids to the dismay of older fans, who want more difficult and mature games. Pokémon is a multimedia franchise built around the games, made up of the long-running anime, movies, comics, trading card game, original manga. and more. There are also incredibly popular mobile games on the market, with the most noteworthy being Pokémon GO. The franchise's growing success has been helped by a nostalgia boom for the older parts of the series, with the value of old Pokémon cards skyrocketing in value over the past year. The series also makes a lot of money from merchandise, ranging from toys and clothes to plushies and more.
The latest Pokémon merchandise is aimed at very young kids, potentially opening up brand awareness to toddlers and babies. The Pokémon Company International has released Pokémon Primers: ABC and Pokémon Primers: 123, with Pokémon Primers: Colors and Pokémon Primers: Shapes due to be released in the future. The books are published by Pikachu Press, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company that deals with products aimed at kids, and they're available from retailers worldwide.
These Pokémon books have fold-up flaps with information about each Pokémon. The correct pronunciation for each Pokémon's name is also included, which is especially helpful in a book teaching the basics of the language, yet features names with roots in another. The books feature Pokémon from throughout the series, so there's no Gen IV bias to promote new games, unlike some recent Pokémon merchandise clearly intended to engender fans more toward the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl era.
For many, it's likely strange to consider that the people who were kids when Pokémon Red and Blue were released are now adults and have kids of their own. It's natural for parents to want to share their favorite toys and TV shows from when they were a kid, and Pokémon is the kind of franchise that makes it a sticking point to appeal to people of all ages. Encouraging parents to pass down their love for the franchise to their young children is a clever way for Pokémon to embed itself in the minds of a whole new generation.
Pokémon Primers: ABC and Pokémon Primers: 123 are available to purchase from retailers worldwide.