Jan Genomonic Man

And the first fact, fact number one.

The name Pokemon comes from pocket monsters.

It's a combination of the English word pocket and the Japanese monsters, reflecting the original idea of tiny creatures you could carry and collect.

The name was designed to appeal to kids, but it's also had a massive appeal to adults.

There are now over 1,000 unique Pokemon species with distinct abilities and traits.

And the second fact, fact number two.

Though it is number 112 in the Pokedex, Rhydon was the first Pokemon ever created, according to Ken Sugimori, the primary designer of the Pokemon games.

It was primarily used as a base model because of its simple shape.

Rhydon appears often in classic game art and even as statues in original Pokemon Red and Blue.

And fact number three is how did Pikachu come to be in the franchise's enduring mascot?

This is a real rags to riches story and in some of the original games Pikachu was rare and most people didn't even know it existed.

Apparently it became popular because OLM Inc.

found out that Pikachu was popular with both boys and girls, unlike Claire Fairy, who was destined for the throne, who was pink in colour.

So Pikachu won the day due to its pet-like cuteness, its identifiable yellow colour and broad appeal.

And fact number four, there's more to a Pokemon name than meets the eye.

Many names hide clever meanings, are composed of compound words, blend descriptions of their appearance and behavior, contain different languages, and so on.

Some examples include birds like Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, that respectively include the Spanish numbers Uno, Dos, Tres in their names, Mimikyu, which is what this Pokemon does, and the reverse spelling of Ekans and Arbok, which is respectively Snake and Cobra.

And the last fact, fact number five.

The infiltration of Pokemon into world culture has truly been breathtaking.

For example, the tiny island nation of Niue has printed legal currency featuring Pikachu and other Pokemon, which doubles as both money and as a collectible.