I have written more than 30 Pokémon books for Scholastic. Since I began writing, I have received thousands of letters from fans asking questions about Pokémon. Here are some fun Pokémon facts and links: Pokémon was invented in Japan by a man named Satoshi Tajiri. It started out as a video game, then became a comic book and then a cartoon. In the Japanese cartoon, Ash’s name is Satoshi! I got the job writing Pokémon because I am a big fan of cartoons, especially Japanese cartoons. My editor at Scholastic asked if I would be interested in writing books about Pokémon, and I said “Yes!” Almost all of the Pokémon chapter books are based on cartoon episodes. Each book tells the story of three or four episodes that go together somehow. But two books, Race to Danger and Talent Showdown, aren’t based on the television show. They are original stories I created just for the Scholastic series. My favorite Pokémon are Jigglypuff and Squirtle, because they are funny. When I started playing the Blue Version of Pokémon, I choose a Squirtle. I did not get very far in the game because I became too busy writing books. If I were a Pokémon trainer, I would probably specialize in Grass Pokémon because they are either very cute, like Oddish and Bellossom, or very unique, like Belsprout. For a complete list of all of the Pokémon books I have written, click on the Book List link. MY FAVORITE POKEMON LINKS: www.scholastic.com/titles/pokemon The best way to learn about Scholastic’s Pokémon books. www.pokemon.com The Official website of Pokémon USA. www.pojo.com/pokemon A site for Pokemon fanatics, this has loads of information about the card game, video games, cartoon series, and movies.