Pokémon Annual 2019

Over two weeks ago, I had mentioned that I came away with what could possibly called a Pokémon "reference" of sorts. I also mentioned that I would discuss it on this blog in due time, though that "time" never came by within that span of time, until today. That "reference" is in the form of a book, for which the title is indicated in the title of this post. The key word is in quotes, of course, because of the way of regarding it as such.

The book is quite big, and yet for its size, it only contains 69 pages, all of them certainly related to Pokémon. This is also the 2019 (this year's) edition; there are editions for past years, but I don't have them and they're hard to find - except one, which deserves to be discussed in a different post, and perhaps not any time soon. The concept of these "Annual" books - and in general, this book series - is not unique to Pokémon, as a few other fandoms (that I or others may or may not be interested in) have their own books and series. However, Pokémon is what I like and what many other people like, so there has to be a series for it.

Now, my argument for this being a "reference" is that it does contain the story of two episodes of the anime, along with relevant pictorial details from them. As well, the middle part contains an alphabetical listing of all new Pokémon involved in the Alola saga and adventures; that's because this book concerns as such, if the front cover of the book isn't already a clear indication, with the characteristic orange and yellow of Sun and blue and purple of Moon. Those bits are enough to indicate that the book is indeed a reference, even if it seems to be a minor one.

As for it not being so much a "reference", that is due to the fact that this book contains a fair bit of activities and/or puzzles regarding Pokémon. It is likewise a book aimed at younger audiences, much like a certain book that I procured last year. Those puzzles are interesting for me because I'm a puzzle freak, and they look like they might belong in certain puzzle periodicals, though they obviously have to be easier in order to be able to be solved by them. The answers are even on the final page of the book, in a further similarity to those periodicals, so that one may "check their work" after solving. That being considered, "reference" may not be a suitable characteristic for the book.

There are two sides to this Pokémon book for young audiences. It is both a "reference" since it contains information that may be helpful for any fan, and not so much because of the less informative (but more interactive) content. I suppose that for the target audience, it may very well not be as such, but for others, the referential content may still be appropriate. It may or may not be a "reference", but one thing that I and many people may agree on is that it's among one of the neatest things related to Pokémon.

One year ago: Items with a Purpose
Two years ago: Beyond the Boundary... of Languages