The Wonders of the PokéRap and Beyond

Anyone who has been with Pokémon since the early days and particularly the English side of things will almost certainly recognize the PokéRap, a series of songs that list almost nearly all the Pokémon of a generation in a lyrical fashion, though not necessarily in index order. They're all great Pokémon songs in their own regard and therefore also great pieces of Pokémon music; within that greatness there is also a sense of wonder that lies in how the songs accomplish their purposes.

As the songs list nearly all of the Pokémon species that belong to a particular generation, the songs become almost like a "mnemonic" aid by way of how they are related by purely lyrical composition, which is not a bad thing. I would say that if I wasn't exposed to these songs, I would have more trouble keeping track of the names of the Pokémon concerned - and I'm sure there are other fans who would agree. Again, the Pokémon listed aren't related by index order or other relations, but that seems to be the least of the worries when one is just getting to know them. Those other relations can then follow after knowing them.

The spirit of the songs listing Pokémon species can be argued to be memorably noble, so much that it occurs or at least can be construed to occur beyond the proper PokéRap songs, which I've detailed as a song that is superficially like them and two songs that vaguely include them. What this shows is that there is a sense that the names of Pokémon species are important to be remembered in some way, whether formally through index listings or lyrically informally through the PokéRap songs and the songs resembling or having a relationship with them.

As a bit of an aside, on the "other side of the pond", the Japanese side, there are the "Ieru ka na" songs, which pretty much accomplish the same purpose, but with the Japanese names and a different musical style. The spirit is therefore also the same, which at least shows that the English side attempted to maintain the commonality through the PokéRap songs, in a way that suits it better than a direct port of the "Ieru ka na" songs, which would be difficult in the first place anyhow. The same sensibility and importance seem to very much apply.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to spot Pokémon by their names upon appearance, more so if one is provided the means for that, for which the PokéRap (or the "Ieru ka na" songs) do so. Through them, one is invited to commit their names to memory so that one can sensibly recall them, being one of the most important aspects of Pokémon, if not the most important one. I'd say that's vital for longtime fans like me and in fact all Pokémon fans that hail from any time period, wherever they may be.

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