With Detective Pikachu now out in theaters and reinvigorating love for the adorable creatures, here are 25 surprising facts about the central figures. Pokémon has become one of the biggest brands and media franchises in the last two decades since Satoshi Tajiri created the property in 1995. From video games, animated TV shows, and now live-action movies, some of the animal-like characters have become pop culture icons over the last 24 years.

This is especially true with Pikachu, who has become the face of the franchise across all mediums. While the small, but electric creature may be the main Pokémon to be featured, he is far from the only one. The Generation I era of Pokémon contained 151 different animals alone, but the total is now north of 800 and continues to climb as more Generation VIII creations are revealed. With a long history and so many different Pokémon, it can be challenging to keep track of everything going on in this franchise.

In Screen Rant's latest video, we take a look at 25 facts about Pokémon that may surprise even the original fans of the franchise. These facts range from initial plans for the story of the games to the early setup of individual characters who didn't join the games until several generations later. These facts only scratch the surface of Pokémon lore, though, but you'll learn about all of them by watching the video featured at the top of this post.

One of the facts that may surprise longtime fans directly involves Pikachu, as he was not always intended to be the main character of the franchise. Supposedly, the original plan for the series was to make Clefairy the central Pokémon, but the decision was eventually made to give Pikachu the spotlight instead. Despite their possible and eventual prominent roles though, neither Pikachu nor Clefairy was the first Pokémon created. That title instead belongs to Rhydon, according to early game developers.

Whether or not every Pokémon fan knows these facts, the continued popularity of the franchise is undeniable. The craze surrounding Pokémon GO was huge and was influential in getting Warner Bros. and Legendary to move forward with the live-action Detective Pikachu movie. The worldwide box office for the film is currently north of $350 million after its second weekend, making this a solid start to a likely franchise. However, the popularity of the brand will continue to extend beyond the silver screen, as games, TV shows, and more will keep Pokémon alive for years to come, especially as long as fans remain as invested as they have become.