10大关于宝可梦的冷知识：英语精读讲义

When Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri was only a child,

当宝可梦创作者田尻智还是个孩子的时候，

he enjoyed catching insects as a hobby.

他的爱好是捕捉昆虫。

As he got older,

随着年龄的增长，

Tajiri decided to transform his hobby into a video game, 短語搭配

田尻智决定将他的爱好变成一款电子游戏，

and he called it

他将其命名为

Capsule Monsters.

《胶囊怪兽》。

Tajiri was heavily inspired by a TV show from 1967 that aired in Japan 短語搭配

田尻智深受1967年在日本播出的一部电视节目的启发，

called Ultra 7, 文化背景

该节目名叫《赛文奥特曼》，

in which the protagonist used giant monsters contained within small capsules to help him fight.

在其中，主角使用装在小胶囊里的巨大怪兽来帮助他战斗。

Okay, seriously,

好吧，说真的，

what the hell is going on in this show? 語氣意圖

这节目到底在搞什么鬼？

Okay, moving on. 表達脈絡

好了，继续。

But the name Capsule Monsters had some trademarking issues,

但是“胶囊怪兽”这个名字存在一些商标问题，

and so the name was changed to Pocket Monsters instead,

于是名字被改成了“口袋妖怪”，

which in abbreviated form becomes Pokémon.

它的缩写就成了“宝可梦”。

Where did the meat in the Pokémon universe come from?

宝可梦世界里的肉是从哪里来的？

It's a question that's been asked over and over again by fans, 短語搭配

这是一个被粉丝们反复问及的问题，

and it's only been met with vague replies. 短語搭配

却总是只得到含糊的回答。

So without an official answer from Nintendo,

所以在没有任天堂官方回答的情况下，

and only the games and anime to go on, 短語動詞

只能依靠游戏和动画来推断，

the horrifying truth seems to be that 語法

可怕的真相似乎是，

the people in the Pokémon universe eat Pokémon.

宝可梦世界里的人们吃宝可梦。

While there are real animals in the world,

虽然世界上有真正的动物，

they seem to be very rare,

但它们似乎非常罕见，

almost to the point of extinction, 短語搭配

几乎到了灭绝的地步，

as they are not often seen or mentioned neither in the games nor the anime. 語法

因为它们不仅很少被看到，在游戏和动画中也鲜少提及。

And it has been hinted that specific Pokémon are actually eaten, 語法

而且有暗示说特定的宝可梦实际上是可以食用的，

some even being considered delicacies. 短語搭配

有些甚至被认为是美味佳肴。

For example,

例如，

a Pokémon called Farfetch'd are noted for making a good meal

一种叫做大葱鸭的宝可梦因能做成一顿美餐而出名，

and were nearly hunted to extinction because of this, 短語搭配

甚至因此差点被捕杀殆尽，

ultimately leading to them now being so rare. 語法

最终导致它们现在变得非常稀有。

Also in the anime,

同样在动画中，

it's indicated several times that fish-like Pokémon are caught and eaten,

也曾多次暗示像鱼一样的宝可梦会被捕捉并食用，

such as the Magikarp.

比如鲤鱼王。

Then again, 表達脈絡

话又说回来，

it might not be that strange 語法

这也许并不奇怪，

as Pokémon are essentially animals in their world,

因为宝可梦在他们的世界里本质上就是动物，

where some are kept as pets and others might get eaten. 語法

有的被当成宠物饲养，有的则可能会被吃掉。

Back in 2005, 表達脈絡

早在2005年，

there was a gene in the human body named Pokémon.

人体中有一种基因被命名为Pokémon。

However,

然而，

Nintendo threatened to sue the center that discovered it 短語搭配

任天堂威胁要起诉发现该基因的中心，

after they found out the gene could cause cancer, 短語動詞

因为他们发现这种基因会导致癌症，

something Nintendo did not want to be associated with. 短語搭配

而任天堂不想与之扯上任何关系。

And so,

因此，

the center was forced to rename the gene, 語法

该中心被迫重命名了这个基因，

and now it has the much more spectacular name ZBTB7.

现在它有了一个更引人注目的名字：ZBTB7。

But fear not, 語氣意圖

但别担心，

we still have Pikachurin,

我们还有“皮卡丘素”（Pikachurin），

a protein in the human body named after the iconic Pokémon. 短語搭配

一种以这个标志性宝可梦命名的人体蛋白质。

Currently,

目前，

there are 718 revealed Pokémon in the franchise.

该系列已经公布了718只宝可梦。

And if we look at the official list, 表達脈絡

如果我们看官方列表，

we can see that Bulbasaur is listed at the very top

会发现妙蛙种子被排在最前面，

with the national Pokédex number 001.

其全国图鉴编号为001。

Logically,

按理说，

that would mean Bulbasaur was the first ever Pokémon created, 表達脈絡

这意味着妙蛙种子是被创造出来的第一只宝可梦，

right? 表達脈絡

对吧？

Wrong.

错。

We have to go all the way down to number 112, 短語搭配

我们得一直往下看，直到第112号，

where we'll find Rhydon,

我们会找到钻角犀兽，

which is the actual first ever Pokémon created.

它才是实际上被创造出来的第一只宝可梦。

There are even early sketches of Rhydon

甚至还有钻角犀兽的早期草图，

from when Pokémon was still called Capsule Monsters.

那时候宝可梦还被称为“胶囊怪兽”。

Pokémon can be defined using what is called types.

宝可梦可以用所谓的“属性”来定义。

Currently,

目前，

there are 18 different types:

共有18种不同的属性：

normal, fire, fighting, water, flying, grass,

一般、火、格斗、水、飞行、草、

poison, electric, ground, psychic, rock, ice, bug,

毒、电、地面、超能力、岩石、冰、虫、

dragon, ghost, dark, steel, and fairy.

龙、幽灵、恶、钢以及妖精。

Types function as a way to tell what a Pokémon can and cannot do. 短語搭配

属性的作用是说明宝可梦能做什么和不能做什么。

More specifically,

更具体地说，

what type of abilities it has in terms of defense and offense. 短語搭配

就是它在防御和攻击方面有什么样的能力。

Pikachu, for example,

例如，皮卡丘

is of the electric type.

是电属性的。

And a Pokémon can only have one or two types.

而一只宝可梦只能有一个或两个属性。

If a Pokémon existed and had every type, 語法

如果存在一只拥有所有属性的宝可梦，

it would interestingly enough only be weak to rock types.

有趣的是，它只会弱岩石属性。

The most common is the water type,

最常见的是水属性，

which consists of 124 Pokémon.

包含124只宝可梦。

The least common is the ghost and fairy type

最少见的是幽灵属性和妖精属性，

with only 34 Pokémon each.

各只有34只宝可梦。

This is the most valuable Pokémon card out there. 習語

这是世界上最昂贵的宝可梦卡牌。

It's called the Pikachu Illustrator or Pokémon Illustrator,

它被称为“皮卡丘插画师”或“宝可梦插画师”，

and only six copies were ever created.

全世界只印制了6张。

It was originally given away as a reward for those who had a winning entry 短語動詞

它最初是作为奖励发放给在1997年

in a Japanese Pokémon contest in 1997.

日本宝可梦比赛中获胜的参赛者的。

Only Japanese versions of the cards exist,

这张卡只有日文版，

and they are valued at approximately $20,000.

估价约为2万美元。

However,

然而，

recently one of the cards showed up on eBay for a whopping $100,000. 講解

最近其中一张卡片在eBay上出现，标价高达10万美元。

That's a lot of paper for another piece of paper. 習語

花这么多钞票买一张纸可真够绝的。

In 2001,

2001年，

the small South Pacific country Niue printed official legal coins

南太平洋小国纽埃发行了官方流通硬币，

with several Pokémon characters featured on the back to celebrate the franchise.

硬币背面印有几个宝可梦角色，以此来庆祝该系列。

To find one today, 語法

不过，今天想要找到一枚

though,

可能会非常困难，

could be quite difficult as they are very rare,

因为它们非常罕见，

and the coins are considered a collector's item. 短語搭配

并且这些硬币已被视为收藏品。

A very noticeable feature about the character named Brock in the long-running Pokémon anime

在这部长篇宝可梦动画中，名为小刚的角色有一个非常显著的特点，

is the fact that his eyes naturally appear closed.

那就是他的眼睛天生看起来是闭着的。

However,

然而，

there have been a few brief moments

有那么短暂的几个瞬间，

where they have appeared open.

它们看起来是睁开的。

But the few times they have, 語法

但在少数睁开的几次中，

many viewers have complained about it being almost a little eerie. 語法

许多观众抱怨说这看起来简直有点诡异。

Judge for yourself. 語氣意圖

你们自己评判吧。

Ash, the main protagonist of the anime series,

动画系列的主角小智（Ash），

has the last name Ketchum.

他的姓氏是Ketchum。

It's a play on the words catch 'em, 習語

这是在玩“抓住它们”（catch 'em）的文字游戏，

as in the show's tagline,

就像该节目的口号一样：

"Gotta catch 'em all." 用詞

“Gotta catch 'em all.”（必须把它们全抓住。）

In the Japanese version of the anime,

在日文版的动画中，

though,

不过，

the protagonist is known as Satoshi

主角被称为Satoshi（小智），

after the Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri.

是以宝可梦创作者田尻智的名字命名的。

And on that note, 表達脈絡

说到这里，

the rival of the main character Gary Oak is known as Shigeru,

主角的劲敌小茂（Gary Oak）在日语里叫Shigeru，

paying homage to the creator of games such as Mario and Zelda, 短語搭配

这是为了向《马力欧》和《塞尔达传说》等游戏的创作者致敬，

Shigeru Miyamoto.

也就是宫本茂（Shigeru Miyamoto）。

There are many reasons

人们开始进行体育运动

why people start practicing sports.

有很多原因。

Strangely enough, 表達脈絡

说来奇怪，

Pokémon is one of them.

宝可梦就是其中之一。

At least for this guy.

至少对这家伙来说是这样。

When Ashley McKenzie was 11 years old,

当阿什利·麦肯齐11岁时，

he got into a fight with another kid 短語搭配

他和另一个小孩打了一架，

when he tried to take his Charizard card.

因为那个小孩想抢走他的喷火龙卡牌。

For those of you who don't know, 表達脈絡

告诉不知道的人，

Charizard was like the shit back then. 用詞

当时的喷火龙卡牌可是超牛的东西。

But after being defeated,

但被打败后，

he did some research and found 短語搭配

他做了一些研究并发现，

the kid had used judo moves on him.

那个小孩对他使用了柔道动作。

He went to the local judo club,

于是他去了当地的柔道俱乐部，

and after confronting his attacker and getting his Pokémon card back, 短語動詞

在找那个袭击他的人要回宝可梦卡牌后，

McKenzie realized that judo could be something for him. 習語

麦肯齐意识到柔道可能是他喜欢的东西。

Today,

今天，

all thanks to that one Charizard card, 短語搭配

完全要归功于那张喷火龙卡牌，

McKenzie is a judo champion.

麦肯齐成了柔道冠军。

While speaking of sports, 表達脈絡

既然说到体育，

have you seen this face-off video between Kobe Bryant and Lionel Messi?

你看过科比·布莱恩特和利昂内尔·梅西之间的这场对决视频吗？

It's pretty awesome, actually.

真的非常精彩。

Just click this red annotation or the link in the description

只需点击这个红色的注释或描述中的链接，

to go check it out.

就可以去看看。

It's okay if you don't want to sing along. 語氣意圖

如果你不想跟着唱也没关系。

But if you do, 語法

但如果你愿意，

I promise you you will feel like you belong. 講解

我保证你会找到归属感。

Don't get me wrong, 語氣意圖

别误会我的意思，

we're not the same,

我们不一样，

no, not at all. 語氣意圖

不，完全不一样。

Look at me.

看着我。