In 1999, Pokémon was the second most searched topic on the internet. The first was pornography.
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Pokémon is Japanese for Pocket Monsters and Chinpokomon (the South Park parody) is Japanese for Penis Monsters.
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In 2000, Pope John Paul II gave his blessing to the Pokémon franchise, saying the games did not have "any harmful moral side effects" and were based on "ties of intense friendship."
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