For awhile now I've been wondering about the creation of Ho-Oh in terms of the franchise. Obviously it was featured in the very first episode of the anime, and is considered a Generation II Pokemon, but the exact details of its creation seem rather unclear to me.
Because of this I've been looking at the years of production for the various media in an attempt to find out which branch of the Pokemon franchise had the most involvement in creating Ho-Oh. These are the years for the various media that I have looked at:
Red and Green released in Japan in February 27, 1996 and in North America as Red and Blue on September 1, 1998
The anime first aired in Japan on April 1, 1997 and in the United States on September 8, 1998
Gold and Silver version released in Japan on November 21, 1999 and in the United States on October 15, 2000
According to PKMN.Net, Gold and Silver was in production as early as 1997 (one year after Red and Green and the same year as the anime). The anime is almost an entity distinct from the games, branching out as the original season went on and culminating with the Orange Island arch, though it may have returned to the canon of the games or continued the way they were going past. I'm not sure; I stopped watched after the Johto-themed seasons.
The anime is an entirely different media for the franchise, and I don't know Satoshi Tajiri or Ken Sugimori's exact level of involvement (though the differences would suggest it is very minimal).
My question is basically, did the anime create Ho-Oh and it was added to the Gold and Silver games due to that influence, which would make Ho-Oh really a first generation Pokemon introduced in the second generation games, or did the main media of the games actually have a level of involvement with the anime that would be strong enough to introduce Ho-Oh? I'm almost leaning towards the anime chiefly creating Ho-Oh in that its first appearance is more reminiscent of a peacock than a phoenix, which would suggest a thematic change orchestrated by the game canon.
Because of this I've been looking at the years of production for the various media in an attempt to find out which branch of the Pokemon franchise had the most involvement in creating Ho-Oh. These are the years for the various media that I have looked at:
Red and Green released in Japan in February 27, 1996 and in North America as Red and Blue on September 1, 1998
The anime first aired in Japan on April 1, 1997 and in the United States on September 8, 1998
Gold and Silver version released in Japan on November 21, 1999 and in the United States on October 15, 2000
According to PKMN.Net, Gold and Silver was in production as early as 1997 (one year after Red and Green and the same year as the anime). The anime is almost an entity distinct from the games, branching out as the original season went on and culminating with the Orange Island arch, though it may have returned to the canon of the games or continued the way they were going past. I'm not sure; I stopped watched after the Johto-themed seasons.
The anime is an entirely different media for the franchise, and I don't know Satoshi Tajiri or Ken Sugimori's exact level of involvement (though the differences would suggest it is very minimal).
My question is basically, did the anime create Ho-Oh and it was added to the Gold and Silver games due to that influence, which would make Ho-Oh really a first generation Pokemon introduced in the second generation games, or did the main media of the games actually have a level of involvement with the anime that would be strong enough to introduce Ho-Oh? I'm almost leaning towards the anime chiefly creating Ho-Oh in that its first appearance is more reminiscent of a peacock than a phoenix, which would suggest a thematic change orchestrated by the game canon.
