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Fakemon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Example of a Fakemon, titled Parroot

Fakemon,also calledFakémon,are fan-designed fictional creatures based on thePokémonfranchise ofmonster-taming games.

While many such designs have been created purely asfan art,others are made specifically as hoaxes to fool fans into believing they will appear in future series titles.

History

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Etymology

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The word Fakemon is aportmanteauof the wordsfakeandPokémon.[1]In Japanese, they are known asOripoké(オリポケ,from "original Pokémon" ).[2]

Origin

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According toGameRant,Fakemon have existed "for almost as long as Pokémon itself", but began to proliferate with the advent offan-made video games[3]as well as the advent of the internet.

Founded in 1998, "Mewthree and Frogglet's Pokémon Factory" (later called Pokémon Factory) became the first website to formalize the creation of Fakemon.[4]A public forum, it required members to post their creation to other members, who would provide critique until its revisions deemed it "presentable for review by Pokémon Factory staff." The intent of the website was to create "an outlet for fan innovations in pokémon [sic]. "[5]

Image generated by the Text-to-PokémonStable Diffusionmodel with the prompt:Yoda

The popularity of the creatures has led to the creation of various online Fakemon image generators. For example, in 2022,Lambda Labsresearcher Justin Pinkney created Text-to-Pokémon, which utilizesStable Diffusionto create creatures based on a user's written prompt.[6][7][8]The model was trained on "BLIP captioned Pokémon images with twoNVIDIA RTXA6000GPUson the Lambda GPU Cloud for around 15,000 steps. "[8]

As of 2022, Fakemon are popular on websites such asDeviantArt,Instagram,TikTok,andReddit,[9][10]as well asYouTube.[10]Some Fakemon designers are professional artists in the video game industry.[11]Fakemon design has been described as "a way for fans to express their individuality while honoring the franchise they love."[12]

Design

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Fakemon are designed by fans of thePokémonfranchise using design principles from thePokémonvideo games andanime,such as color, level of detail, anatomy, and relatability.[13][14][11]Fakemon designers have employed the use ofMicrosoft PaintandPhotoshopto mimic the pixel art of thePokémonvideo games.[9]Fans design Fakemon based on real-world concepts such as culture, architecture, animals, plants,[10]and mythology.[15]

Fakemon are often created to accompany fan-madePokémonregions or games;[1][16]the fan gamePokémon Uraniumhas over 150 Fakemon featured in it,[17]whilePokémon Cloverhas over 300.[18]

Controversy

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Fakemon designs have occasionally been so similar to the visual language ofPokémonthat they have been confused for realleaks.[14][19]

For example, a set of three fake fire, water, and grassstarter Pokémonwere created by Leopoldo Spagna as a hoax in 2018, prior to the announcement ofPokémon Sword and Shield.Spagna's designs were featured on multiple websites as a legitimate rumor, leading fans to create fan art andmemesof the supposed Pokémon.[19]While he later apologized for the hoax, PokéNinja, aTwitch streamer,backed a special tier of theKickstarterforTemtem,a game resemblingPokémon,putting forth one of the fake Pokémon, Platypet, as a monster design. Platypet was first included within the game when it releasedearly accessthroughSteamon January 21, 2020.[19][20]In the game's universe, Platypet stars in a cartoon about Toxic-elemental Temtem.[19]

References

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  1. ^abVu, Mai (2022-04-17)."Pokémon: Why Fakemon Are So Popular".ScreenRant.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-12-14.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  2. ^"『ポケモン kiếm thuẫn 』 công thức サイトがバグった!? ネットでは mê の ポケモン dư trắc tế り".KAI-YOU.net.13 September 2019.Retrieved9 November2023.
  3. ^Galekovic, Filip (2022-06-05)."Artist is Designing Starter Pokemon for Every US State".Game Rant.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-05.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  4. ^"Pokémon: The Unique Experience of Fan-Made Games".the-artifice.2015-10-16.Retrieved2023-11-09.
  5. ^"The Pokémon Factory: It Starts With An Idea".pokefactory.pokemology.Retrieved2023-11-09.
  6. ^Silberling, Amanda (2022-09-28)."Make your very own AI-generated Pokémon-like creature".TechCrunch.Retrieved2023-11-09.
  7. ^"Turn Anything into Pokémon with This New AI Program".Nerdist.Retrieved2023-11-09.
  8. ^abFoley, Joseph (2022-09-27)."This spot-on AI Pokémon generator has me hooked".Creative Bloq.Retrieved2023-11-09.
  9. ^abShotwell, Alyssa (2023-04-12)."Artist Creates Alarmingly Accurate Starter Pokémon for Each State".The Mary Sue.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-06-06.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  10. ^abcGrosso, Robert (2022-10-14)."Exploring the World of Fakemon".TechRaptor.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-11-30.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  11. ^abMichael, Cale (2022-11-17)."Can an official Pokémon not look like a Pokémon? Expert artist analysis details how it can happen".Dot Esports.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-11-17.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  12. ^Caballero, David (2021-08-25)."10 Fakemon That Look Like Real Pokémon".ScreenRant.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-03-20.Retrieved2023-10-25.
  13. ^Gray, Kate (2022-11-17)."Random: Fakemon Artist Details The Recipe For What Pokémon Should Look Like".Nintendo Life.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-01-30.Retrieved2023-10-25.
  14. ^abValentine, Rebekah (2023-01-02)."'Fakemon' Designer Explains What Makes a Pokémon a Pokémon ".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-10-30.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  15. ^De Pacina, Michelle (2021-12-14)."Tikbalang, parols and carabao: Digital artist creates Filipino-inspired Pokémon that look as official as the real thing".NextShark.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-15.Retrieved2023-10-25– via Yahoo News.
  16. ^Warren, Martyn (2022-05-16)."Pokémon: 10 Interesting Fakemon Projects".ScreenRant.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-12-17.Retrieved2023-10-25.
  17. ^Van Boom, Daniel (August 11, 2016)."Fan-made Pokemon Uranium launches after 9 years of development".CNET.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on August 12, 2016.RetrievedNovember 9,2023.
  18. ^Baker, Ben (2020-01-16)."The 15 Most Powerful Pokemon In The Clover Pokedex".TheGamer.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-06-03.Retrieved2023-10-25.
  19. ^abcdHernandez, Patricia (2020-01-31)."The Pokémon hoax that found its way into Temtem".Polygon.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-03-25.Retrieved2023-10-25.
  20. ^Gerblick, Jordan (2019-12-06)."TemTem is a Pokemon-like MMO coming to Steam next month".gamesradar.Retrieved2023-11-09.


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