10大關於寶可夢的冷知識：英語精讀講義

When Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri was only a child,

當寶可夢創作者田尻智還是個孩子的時候，

he enjoyed catching insects as a hobby.

他的嗜好是捕捉昆蟲。

As he got older,

隨著年齡的增長，

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

田尻智決定將他的嗜好變成一款電子遊戲，

and he called it

他將其命名為

Capsule Monsters.

《膠囊怪獸》。

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

田尻智深受1967年在日本播出的一部電視節目的啟發，

called Ultra 7, 文化背景

該節目名叫《超人七號》，

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

在其中，主角使用裝在小膠囊裡的巨大怪獸來幫助他戰鬥。

Okay, seriously,

好吧，說真的，

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

這節目到底在搞什麼鬼？

Okay, moving on. 表達脈絡

好了，繼續。

But the name Capsule Monsters had some trademarking issues,

但是「膠囊怪獸」這個名字存在一些商標問題，

and so the name was changed to Pocket Monsters instead,

於是名字被改成了「口袋怪獸」，

which in abbreviated form becomes Pokémon.

它的縮寫就成了「寶可夢」。

Where did the meat in the Pokémon universe come from?

寶可夢世界裡的肉是從哪裡來的？

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

這是一個被粉絲們反覆問及的問題，

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

卻總是只得到含糊的回答。

So without an official answer from Nintendo,

所以在沒有任天堂官方回答的情況下，

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

只能依靠遊戲和動畫來推斷，

the horrifying truth seems to be that 文法

可怕的真相似乎是，

the people in the Pokémon universe eat Pokémon.

寶可夢世界裡的人們吃寶可夢。

While there are real animals in the world,

雖然世界上有真正的動物，

they seem to be very rare,

但牠們似乎非常罕見，

almost to the point of extinction, 片語搭配

幾乎到了滅絕的地步，

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

因為牠們不僅很少被看到，在遊戲和動畫中也鮮少提及。

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

而且有暗示說特定的寶可夢實際上是可以食用的，

some even being considered delicacies. 片語搭配

有些甚至被認為是美味佳餚。

For example,

例如，

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

一種叫做大蔥鴨的寶可夢因能做成一頓美餐而出名，

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

甚至因此差點被捕殺殆盡，

ultimately leading to them now being so rare. 文法

最終導致牠們現在變得非常稀有。

Also in the anime,

同樣在動畫中，

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

也曾多次暗示像魚一樣的寶可夢會被捕捉並食用，

such as the Magikarp.

比如鯉魚王。

Then again, 表達脈絡

話又說回來，

it might not be that strange 文法

這也許並不奇怪，

as Pokémon are essentially animals in their world,

因為寶可夢在他們的世界裡本質上就是動物，

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

有的被當成寵物飼養，有的則可能會被吃掉。

Back in 2005, 表達脈絡

早在2005年，

there was a gene in the human body named Pokémon.

人體中有一種基因被命名為Pokémon。

However,

然而，

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

任天堂威脅要起訴發現該基因的中心，

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

因為他們發現這種基因會導致癌症，

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

而任天堂不想與之扯上任何關係。

And so,

因此，

the center was forced to rename the gene, 文法

該中心被迫重新命名了這個基因，

and now it has the much more spectacular name ZBTB7.

現在它有了一個更引人注目的名字：ZBTB7。

But fear not, 語氣意圖

但別擔心，

we still have Pikachurin,

我們還有「皮卡丘素」（Pikachurin），

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

一種以這個標誌性寶可夢命名的人體蛋白質。

Currently,

目前，

there are 718 revealed Pokémon in the franchise.

該系列已經公布了718隻寶可夢。

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

如果我們看官方列表，

we can see that Bulbasaur is listed at the very top

會發現妙蛙種子被排在最前面，

with the national Pokédex number 001.

其全國圖鑑編號為001。

Logically,

按理說，

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

這意味著妙蛙種子是被創造出來的第一隻寶可夢，

right? 表達脈絡

對吧？

Wrong.

錯。

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

我們得一直往下看，直到第112號，

where we'll find Rhydon,

我們會找到鑽角犀獸，

which is the actual first ever Pokémon created.

牠才是實際上被創造出來的第一隻寶可夢。

There are even early sketches of Rhydon

甚至還有鑽角犀獸的早期草圖，

from when Pokémon was still called Capsule Monsters.

那時候寶可夢還被稱為「膠囊怪獸」。

Pokémon can be defined using what is called types.

寶可夢可以用所謂的「屬性」來定義。

Currently,

目前，

there are 18 different types:

共有18種不同的屬性：

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

一般、火、格鬥、水、飛行、草、

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

毒、電、地面、超能力、岩石、冰、蟲、

dragon, ghost, dark, steel, and fairy.

龍、幽靈、惡、鋼以及妖精。

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

屬性的作用是說明寶可夢能做什麼和不能做什麼。

More specifically,

更具體地說，

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

就是牠在防禦和攻擊方面有什麼樣的能力。

Pikachu, for example,

例如，皮卡丘

is of the electric type.

是電屬性的。

And a Pokémon can only have one or two types.

而一隻寶可夢只能有一個或兩個屬性。

If a Pokémon existed and had every type, 文法

如果存在一隻擁有所有屬性的寶可夢，

it would interestingly enough only be weak to rock types.

有趣的是，牠只會弱岩石屬性。

The most common is the water type,

最常見的是水屬性，

which consists of 124 Pokémon.

包含124隻寶可夢。

The least common is the ghost and fairy type

最少見的是幽靈屬性和妖精屬性，

with only 34 Pokémon each.

各只有34隻寶可夢。

This is the most valuable Pokémon card out there. 慣用語

這是世界上最昂貴的寶可夢卡牌。

It's called the Pikachu Illustrator or Pokémon Illustrator,

它被稱為「皮卡丘插畫家」或「寶可夢插畫家」，

and only six copies were ever created.

全世界只印製了6張。

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

它最初是作為獎勵發放給在1997年

in a Japanese Pokémon contest in 1997.

日本寶可夢比賽中獲勝的參賽者的。

Only Japanese versions of the cards exist,

這張卡只有日文版，

and they are valued at approximately $20,000.

估價約為2萬美元。

However,

然而，

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

最近其中一張卡片在eBay上出現，標價高達10萬美元。

That's a lot of paper for another piece of paper. 慣用語

花這麼多鈔票買一張紙可真夠誇張的。

In 2001,

2001年，

the small South Pacific country Niue printed official legal coins

南太平洋小國紐埃發行了官方流通硬幣，

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

硬幣背面印有幾個寶可夢角色，以此來慶祝該系列。

To find one today, 文法

不過，今天想要找到一枚

though,

可能會非常困難，

could be quite difficult as they are very rare,

因為它們非常罕見，

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

並且這些硬幣已被視為收藏品。

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

在這部長篇寶可夢動畫中，名為小剛的角色有一個非常顯著的特點，

is the fact that his eyes naturally appear closed.

那就是他的眼睛天生看起來是閉著的。

However,

然而，

there have been a few brief moments

有那麼短暫的幾個瞬間，

where they have appeared open.

它們看起來是睜開的。

But the few times they have, 文法

但在少數睜開的幾次中，

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

許多觀眾抱怨說這看起來簡直有點詭異。

Judge for yourself. 語氣意圖

你們自己評估吧。

Ash, the main protagonist of the anime series,

動畫系列的主角小智（Ash），

has the last name Ketchum.

他的姓氏是Ketchum。

It's a play on the words catch 'em, 慣用語

這是在玩「抓住牠們」（catch 'em）的文字遊戲，

as in the show's tagline,

就像該節目的口號一樣：

"Gotta catch 'em all." 用詞

「Gotta catch 'em all.」（必須把牠們全抓住。）

In the Japanese version of the anime,

在日文版的動畫中，

though,

不過，

the protagonist is known as Satoshi

主角被稱為Satoshi（小智），

after the Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri.

是以寶可夢創作者田尻智的名字命名的。

And on that note, 表達脈絡

說到這裡，

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

主角的勁敵小茂（Gary Oak）在日語裡叫Shigeru，

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

這是為了向《瑪利歐》和《薩爾達傳說》等遊戲的創作者致敬，

Shigeru Miyamoto.

也就是宮本茂（Shigeru Miyamoto）。

There are many reasons

人們開始進行體育運動

why people start practicing sports.

有很多原因。

Strangely enough, 表達脈絡

說來奇怪，

Pokémon is one of them.

寶可夢就是其中之一。

At least for this guy.

至少對這傢伙來說是這樣。

When Ashley McKenzie was 11 years old,

當阿什利·麥肯齊11歲時，

he got into a fight with another kid 片語搭配

他和另一個小孩打了一架，

when he tried to take his Charizard card.

因為那個小孩想搶走他的噴火龍卡牌。

For those of you who don't know, 表達脈絡

告訴不知道的人，

Charizard was like the shit back then. 用詞

當時的噴火龍卡牌可是超猛的東西。

But after being defeated,

但被打敗後，

he did some research and found 片語搭配

他做了一些研究並發現，

the kid had used judo moves on him.

那個小孩對他使用了柔道動作。

He went to the local judo club,

於是他去了當地的柔道俱樂部，

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

在找那個襲擊他的人要回寶可夢卡牌後，

McKenzie realized that judo could be something for him. 慣用語

麥肯齊意識到柔道可能是他喜歡的東西。

Today,

今天，

all thanks to that one Charizard card, 片語搭配

完全要歸功於那張噴火龍卡牌，

McKenzie is a judo champion.

麥肯齊成了柔道冠軍。

While speaking of sports, 表達脈絡

既然說到體育，

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

你看過柯比·布萊恩和里奧內爾·梅西之間的這場對決影片嗎？

It's pretty awesome, actually.

真的非常精彩。

Just click this red annotation or the link in the description

只需點擊這個紅色的註釋或描述中的連結，

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

如果你不想跟著唱也沒關係。

But if you do, 文法

但如果你願意，

I promise you you will feel like you belong. 講解

我保證你會找到歸屬感。

Don't get me wrong, 語氣意圖

別誤會我的意思，

we're not the same,

我們不一樣，

no, not at all. 語氣意圖

不，完全不一樣。

Look at me.

看著我。