The impact of Japanese RPGs on pop and gaming culture cannot be overstated. From Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star to Chrono Trigger, NieR, and Fire Emblem -- JRPGs have spanned console generations, bridged the Japanese and North American markets, spawned entire universes of IP and delivered critical commercial hits for nearly four decades. Modern gaming simply wouldn't exist as it does today if not for the influence of JRPGs. In his newest book, Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs, Aidan Moher takes a wondrous in-depth look at the history of Japanese role playing games, their initial rise in the East, the long road to acceptance in the West and ultimate cultural impact the world over. In the excerpt below, Moher explores how Pokemon grew from Gameboy screens to become a multi-billion dollar entertainment juggernaut.

Throughout the decades, Pokemon has taken the opportunity to introduce fans to some strange creatures throughout both the franchise's anime and the countless video games that place players into the roles of trainer seeking to catch powerful pocket monsters. While Ghost Type Pokemon are definitely some of the scariest creatures within the popular franchise, a new AI program is helping fans to create terrifying Pokemon of their own, introducing new pocket monsters to the various generations of the series that would have otherwise never have seen the light of day. If you haven't been following along with the adventures of Ash Ketchum in Pokemon Journeys, fans have been given some of the biggest adventures in the trainer's life, as the eternally young trainer has been on a world tour to help in celebrating his first-ever Pokemon Tournament victory. Joined by his new friend Goh, who is seeking to capture the Pokemon known as Mew to add to his ever-expanding roster, Ash has a new challenge ahead of him in defeating the trainers of Galar, with a future episode of the anime hinting that a road trip with none other than Galar's Champion Leon is in the cards for the anime's protagonist. This AI pokemon website is the funniest shit.