Vol. 1, Issue 31 - Interview with Daniel Dockery (Monster Kids)
An interview with author Daniel Dockery (Monster Kids), the latest Pokémon news, and more from the Johto Times mailbag!
Welcome to issue 31 of the Johto Times! Today, we are delighted to be interviewing Daniel Dockery, the author of Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All. We also have more Pokémon news, and another of your contributions from the Johto Times mailbag!
News
The Pokémon Company has announced that a new Pokémon Center will be opening in Taipei, Taiwan, this December! It is their second active store outside of Japan (third if we count the now defunct Pokémon Center New York, which closed its doors in 2005, reopening as Nintendo New York).
Source: Pokémon Taiwan on Facebook
Mewtwo is currently available to battle in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as part of a 7 Star Tera Raid, until Sunday September 17th. This Pokémon is no pushover, so you will want to bring your most suitable and strongest Pokémon with you to give you and your team the very best chance of capturing it!
Source: Pokémon
Feature: Interview with Daniel Dockery (Monster Kids)
Looking back, I feel quite privileged to have grown up in the late 90s, being exposed to some great kids’ TV shows and products that shaped my childhood. I recently had the chance to read a book called Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All by Daniel Dockery. I felt it was a wonderful celebration of Pokémon and mid-to-late 90s pop culture in general. It was an opportunity for me to learn more about a few franchises that I had missed out on, and to understand how Pokémon’s success had an impact on everything that orbited it.
I had the pleasure of speaking to Daniel about various topics, including what inspired him to write the book, his journey with Pokémania as a kid growing up in the 90s, his love of Pokémon, and how he managed to get a notable voice to narrate the audio version!
Hi, Daniel! Thanks for agreeing to this interview. Please introduce yourself to our audience!
Daniel:
Hey! My name is Daniel Dockery and I’m a writer for places like Crunchyroll, Polygon, Wired, Vulture, and Paste Magazine. I’m a long-time fan of Pokémon (caught its first episode when it premiered in the US in September 1998) and writing Monster Kids was both the fulfilment of a lifelong dream to write a book and an encapsulation of the “Pokémania” era that I grew up during. It still remains a fascinating time period to me.
Firstly, I should say thanks to you and your publisher for providing us with a digital copy of your book, Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All. I had a great time reading it. Where did the idea of writing this book originate?
Daniel:
So, originally I wanted to do an encyclopedia of “monster collecting” franchises, but after getting a few sections done, it was clear that I was basically writing a collection of glorified Wikipedia articles. So then I decided that I wanted to write a history of Pokémon, from its creation to the present. I drafted a proposal for that idea and a few sample chapters and sent them off to agents in the hopes of gaining representation.
I quickly discovered from their feedback that while I was certainly passionate, print publishing is a fairly slow process and by the time the book came out, it would be deeply out of date. So then I decided to focus on a certain era, something that would provide me with a clear A-B narrative and an arc of sorts. The Pokémania years gave me that. It was a fruitful decision, as my agent at the time saw promise in it.
It’s clear that a lot of time and effort went into each page of this book; it was well researched and quite thorough. Can you give us a bit of an insight into the process of starting the book, through to completion and release?
Daniel:
The full answer to this would take a dozen pages, so I’ll provide a snapshot: Originally, I wasn’t going to do any interviews at all. I was going to go off of available material. But there’s so much cool archival and translation-based stuff being created right now that it would feel weird to not provide something new of my own. So I began reaching out to people, both in kind of blind-dial fashion and getting references from others, and slowly the most integral part of the research came together. I can’t imagine what the book would’ve looked like had I not decided to do many of my own interviews.
The audio version of your book is narrated by none other than Veronica Taylor, the voice of Ash Ketchum, May, and many other characters from the Western adaptation of the Pokémon anime! How did that opportunity come about?
Daniel:
Originally, I was going to get someone I knew to do it (I did the intro and epilogue, but I don’t have enough confidence in my weird voice for the whole thing.) However, one of the producers knew Veronica and reached out to her. And as it turns out, the Ash Ketchum I grew up with was interested. After that, all my ideas were null. I wasn’t going to let that opportunity slip away. She was fantastic to work with, by the way. A total pro and very kind.
Aside from being called out about my own Pokémania growing up, I felt like we had something in common from the first few pages when I read about your introduction to Pokémon. You began with Pokémon stickers and a Grape (purple) Game Boy, just like I did! How hard did Pokémania impact you personally as a child?
Daniel:
Well, I wrote a book trying to chronicle it. But seriously, it was immense. As a kid, I was obsessed with monsters and the monster-esque, ranging from Godzilla and his kaiju brethren to gargantuan real life prehistoric reptiles. I also had a growing interest in fantasy and worlds that I could make my own. And I love nature and exploring and taking trips. Pokémon was an amalgamation of so many youthful obsessions. This sounds like hyperbole, but it was the series I needed at the time.
You were fortunate enough to speak to many people close to the Pokémon brand during the production of this book. What was it like to collaborate with them and learn about their stories?
Daniel:
99% of the people I spoke to were so kind and so giving in regards to their stories and knowledge. I loved hearing all of them. Everyone has their own opinion on 4Kids’ and Nintendo’s treatment of Pokémon at the time, so I don’t really care if one disagrees with my takeaways in the book. But most of them genuinely wanted to see Pokémon succeed and many felt very close to the franchise by the end of their involvement.
I think my favourite part of the book was learning about how certain Pokémon names were localised. It sounds like the team had a lot of fun with that! Do you have any personal favourites from the book?
Daniel:
Yeah, there are some really fun ones (and even ones that didn’t make it in — if I ever get to expand the book, there’s a lot I’d love to put in). But I think my favorite is what eventually became Hitmontop. It’s such a weird intersection of creativity and history and judgment calls.
Your book helped me understand just how Western adaptations of other anime were pushed to fit a blueprint made with Pokémon. I recall hearing Digimon being referred to as a copycat of Pokémon all the time. Did you experience this narrative yourself, or was it something you became aware of later?
Daniel:
Oh, yeah. So many shows got that reputation, even if it made little sense production-wise. I spent perhaps too much of my youth telling people that Digimon was not a Pokémon ripoff and was very much its own thing. Did people listen? Mostly no! But then again, few people were interested in actually parsing through the histories of these things, and it happens in every medium to this day. “They both have cool and cute monsters? One must be a copy!”
Speaking from experience, it can be a little intimidating and nerve-wracking reaching out to notable people who helped shape your passion and childhood. How did you feel reaching out to people who had such a significant role in Pokémon?
Daniel:
I was excited when they said yes, but never really anxious about reaching out. One thing that journalism has taught me is that, when it comes to interviews, the worst someone can say is, “No.” And in that case, you just move onto the next one. Plus, they’re all just people like you and I. And they like to talk about the things that they enjoy, like you and I. Many of them enjoyed their time with Pokémon, so it made my job easy.
Despite the focus being predominantly Pokémon, it was nice to see mentions of other brands from the late 90s and early 2000s, such as Tamagotchi and Power Rangers, which brought back a lot of memories I forgot I had. It also helped me appreciate the properties I didn’t get to experience much, such as Digimon and CardCaptors. Outside of Pokémon, how many of these IPs did you personally enjoy growing up?
Daniel:
Most of them! They didn’t always make it easy on us - I talk about Monster Rancher’s bizarre airing schedules which meant that I never got to see the full thing until I was an adult. But every subject in this book, I was at least a little fascinated by growing up. That’s also been one of the best parts about writing it. People will reach out and say, “I’m so glad you included Medabots!” or whatever, franchises that didn’t make a huge impact upon release in the US but crafted a dedicated fanbase nonetheless. I’m glad I could reawaken their memories and share in their joy.
Monster Kids released on October 4th, 2022, almost a year ago at the time of writing this interview. I am curious to hear how you felt once the book was published and your thoughts on how it was received by readers.
Daniel:
I think it was pretty swell, honestly! People have been extremely nice and even those that had issues with it have been extremely respectful. As far as first books go, it was a smooth reception. And getting so many nice remarks certainly helped ease my anxiety in the lead-up to its publication. I wasn’t a wreck, but I certainly had those weird, nagging fears. Like, “Oh, god. What if I misspelled Pikachu?”
Since the book was published, the ninth generation of Pokémon has been released. What was your opinion on those games?
Daniel:
There are aspects of them that are very fun and I think the selection of Pokemon in the Scarlet/Violet base game was fantastic. Also Fuecoco has my heart. That said, they don’t hit me quite like Pokemon games in the past and that’s alright. It’s why I wrote about the time period that did - it’s the era and games that left the biggest impression on me. Hopefully, one day, someone will come along and write about their Pokemon story.
The book was very enjoyable to read, and a trip down memory lane for anyone that grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s. With this in mind, I can’t help but feel that there’s more to tell about Pokémon beyond this era. Do you have any interest in writing a follow-up book?
Daniel:
I’ve thought about this and my answer is, “I’ll have to keep thinking about this.” I don’t know if there’s a story like the one in Pokémania to bring to a later era or set of generations. If I do another book, it would be something that discussed Pokémon more on a wide cultural level rather than set in a certain time in history. But that’s a big “if.” Unless I get commissioned to write another Pokémon book or expand Monster Kids, as I said in the last answer, I think it’d be cool to kind of pass the baton to someone else. I’ve told my tale. Now, it’s your turn.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and once again for sharing your book. I am not ashamed to say that you had me hooked! I fully intended to take a break, only to continue on to the next chapter. Do you have any closing comments you would like to make?
Daniel:
Thank you! I appreciate that! I guess if you haven’t read Monster Kids, but are interested in the chaos (some planned and some not) of the Pokémania years, give it a shot!
A big thanks to Daniel for taking the time to speak with us, and to his publisher for providing us with a PDF of his book. Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All is available to buy from Running Press and your local book store. You can find more from Daniel on Amazon.
Mailbag
Want to be a part of our newsletter? You’re welcome to submit content including (but not limited to) questions, fanart, short stories, your cherished memories, photographs of your collection, and anything else you think you want us to see. We received a letter from LuckyStoat, who kindly shared a little project he has been working on!
Hi Johto Times,
In the previous issue, you showed off some boxes of Bandai Pokémon model kits. I was surprised, that was a kind of merchandise I didn't know existed.
I decided to buy a kit of Lugia, one of my favourite legendary pokemon. Putting it together was very simple and straightforward, requiring no extra tools. The instructions were in Japanese, but that wasn't really an issue. There were four sprue sheets, each labeled A1 A2 B1 B2. Each part on the sheet had a separate standalone number. The instructions would first refer to the sheet, then to the part number with pictures of what you should do.
I've included a photo of the finished model and I'm very happy with the result. It's highly adjustable, not flimsy at all, and I think they did a great job designing it. I only wish that they made a model of Shadow Lugia from Gale of Darkness too!
LuckyStoat, Canada
Thanks for your message, LuckyStoat! I really enjoyed the photographs that SteC shared in the previous issue and thought the model kits were really cool. I love your Lugia; it seems like a cool thing to display on a shelf among other gaming items. Not only that, but I think these models would be great to put together if you’re trying to relax and want to take a break from a computer screen for a few hours. Maybe I’ll pick one up for myself at some point!
Great interview! I hadn't heard of the book before, but as someone deeply interested in how Pokémon has affected our culture, this is right up my alley. I just bought a copy of the audiobook. Excited to listen!