Pokémon Dollar

Money redirects here. For other forms of money, see Currency.
Dollar redirects here. For the Incineroar that Sun nicknamed "Dollar" in the English version of Pokémon Adventures, see Dollar (Adventures).
Dollar redirects here. For the Alolan Meowth that Sun nicknamed "Dollar" in the Japanese version of Pokémon Adventures, see Cent.
$ redirects here. For the glitch Pokémon, see $ (glitch Pokémon).

The Pokémon Dollar (Japanese: (えん) yen or ポケドル Poké Dollar), often simply referred to as money (Japanese: おこづかい pocket money), is the primary currency used in the core series Pokémon games. Its symbol in the Western games is $, a P with a double strikethrough.

Michael has $76,181

It is primarily obtained as prize money from winning Pokémon battles against another Pokémon Trainer and used to buy items from Poké Marts. Most items have prices that are multiples of 100 or 1000, much like the yen; in Pokémon X and Y, the fare for the Lumi Cab starts at $710, which is precisely the same starting tariff as for taxis in Tokyo.[1]

Localization

In the original Japanese versions (except for Pokémon Colosseum and XD), the currency used is yen and the symbol used is 円, the kanji for yen, the national currency of Japan. This kanji is used even in games which do not otherwise use kanji or when the game is set to hiragana mode in Options. In localizations, instead of using the symbol for the Japanese currency, an alternate symbol is used.

In all Western language and Chinese localizations of the core series Pokémon games, the symbol $ is used instead. The currency is generally not named, except for a few instances in the French and German versions.

In the Korean versions, 원, the hangul symbol for the South Korean currency, won, is used instead.

Uniquely, in Pokémon Colosseum and XD, the symbol $ is used in both the Japanese and Western versions and is given the official name ポケドル Poké Dollar in Japanese and "Pokémon Dollar" in English. In the English instruction manuals, it is stated that "The currency in the Orre Region is $ (Poké DollarsColo/Pokémon DollarsXD)."[6][7][8] This official name does not appear in the Japanese or English core series games.

Formatting

The location of the currency symbol relative to the numeric amount varies depending on the language and game:

Language Games Format Description
Japanese All except Colosseum and XD 200円 Yen kanji after
Colo.XD $200 Pokémon Dollar before
English All $200 Pokémon Dollar before
French Gen. I-III 200$ Pokémon Dollar after
Gen. IV onward 200 $ Pokémon Dollar after, with space
German Gen. I-II, RSEColo.XD $200 Pokémon Dollar before
FRLG 200$ Pokémon Dollar after
Gen. IV onward 200 $ Pokémon Dollar after, with space
Italian Gen. I-V, XY $200 Pokémon Dollar before
ORAS onward 200 $ Pokémon Dollar after, with space
Spanish Gen. I-III 200$ Pokémon Dollar after
Gen. IV-VII, SwSh 200 $ Pokémon Dollar after, with space
BDSPLA, Gen. IX onward 200 $ Pokémon Dollar after, with narrow space
Chinese All $200 Pokémon Dollar before
Korean All 200원 Won hangul after

Symbol

The Pokémon Dollar symbol is a P with a double horizontal strikethrough over the tail of the P, similar to the ¥ symbol used for Japanese yen, but with a P for Pokémon instead. There is no real-world currency that uses this exact symbol—it is somewhat similar to the ₽ symbol used for Russian ruble (which only has a single strikethrough) and the ₱ symbol used for Philippine peso (which has a double strikethrough over the head of the P rather than the tail).

               
I-II III IV-V VI VII VIII-IX Colo.XD IX (icon)
   
VIII-IX (ZH) Colo.XD (JP)

Acquisition

When the player starts the game, they begin with $3,000 before Generation VII, $5,000 in Generation VII, $1,000 in Pokémon Sword and Shield, $8,000 in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and $0 in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Scarlet, and Violet.

In Sword and Shield, the player receives $30,000 from Mum shortly before obtaining the Pokédex. In Legends: Arceus, the first money received is $3,000 from Captain Cyllene for finishing Mission 2: "The Galaxy Team's Entry Trial". In Scarlet and Violet, the player receives $10,000 from Mom shortly after obtaining the Pokédex.

Pokémon Dollars are acquired primarily as prize money from defeating Pokémon Trainers in battle, or by selling items at a Poké Mart. Pokémon Dollars can also be acquired by using the move Pay Day in battle, at the rate of either 2 or 5 times the level of the Pokémon using it, depending on the generation. Additionally, some other moves like Happy Hour, as well as held items like the Amulet Coin or Luck Incense, can also have an effect on the amount of money earned in a battle. In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the Roto Loto power Roto Prize Money triples the prize money received after a battle.

Pokémon Black and White introduced the concept of item maniacs. Item maniacs are NPCs who will pay large sums of money for certain items, most of which have no other use but to be sold to these people. However, Pokémon X and Y removed these characters, and instead, items previously sold to item maniacs can now be sold at any shop.

Moves

Money earned at the end of battle can be affected by the following moves.

Move Type Category Power Accuracy Notes
G-Max Gold Rush Normal Varies Varies —% Exclusive G-Max Move of Gigantamax Meowth
The amount of money earned each time is equal to 100× the user's level
Confuses the opponent
Happy Hour Normal Status —% Doubles the amount of prize money earned at the end of battle
Make It Rain Steel Special 120 100% Signature move of Gholdengo
The amount of money earned each time is equal to 5× the user's level
Lowers user's Special Attack
Pay Day Normal Physical 40 100% The amount of money earned each time is equal to 5× the user's level*

Storage

In the core series Pokémon games prior to Generation V and in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, a player's wallet can hold up to $999,999. The GameCube games and core series games from Generation V onwards allow players to carry up to $9,999,999.

In Generation I and its Generation III remakes, the Bicycle is advertised at $1,000,000 making it impossible to obtain without the Bike Voucher. In Generation II and its Generation IV remakes, a Rocket Grunt on Route 32 similarly tries to sell the player a SlowpokeTail for $1,000,000.

In the anime

Main series

 
The yen symbol on a receipt in Showdown in Pewter City
 
Yen coins and notes in The Ghost of Maiden's Peak

The Japanese yen was shown or mentioned several times in early episodes of the anime, and was typically localized as the United States dollar in the English dub when it was.

In the English dub of Pokémon Emergency, Professor Oak said that he bet Gary $1 million that Ash would have caught a new Pokémon by the time he reached Viridian City.

In Showdown in Pewter City, Flint said that he will charge Ash and Misty 50 yen ($2 in the English dub) for resting on his rocks. When Misty made Ash pay for her meal, the yen symbol (changed to a dollar symbol in the dub) appeared on a restaurant bill. Near the end of the episode, Brock told Flint that the canned consommé that Cindy likes is 328 yen at the shop in Pewter City, and that something next to it is 500 yen (rewritten in the English dub).

In Battle Aboard the St. Anne, the Magikarp salesman said that a Magikarp can be sold for 10,000 yen ($100 in the English dub) each, that breeding Magikarp for three generations and selling them could earn hundreds of millions ("billions and billions" in the English dub), and offered to sell James a Magikarp as part of a set for 30,000 yen ($300 in the English dub).

In Tentacool & Tentacruel, Nastina offered a reward of ¥1 million ($1 million in the English dub) for exterminating the Tentacool and Tentacruel troubling Porta Vista.

In The Ghost of Maiden's Peak, Team Rocket complained that they were not even able to find a dropped 100-yen, 10-yen, or 1-yen coin (quarter, nickel, dime, or penny in the English dub) at the festival. They then found a 5-yen coin (a United States penny in the English dub), but ended up handing it over to Officer Jenny before fleeing. Later in the episode, a cash register was shown containing 1000 and 5000-yen notes, as well as 1, 5, 100, and 500-yen coins.

In Clefairy Tales, Oswald said that he spent 2800 yen developing his scanner (rewritten as him having ordered it from a comic book in the English dub).

In Tricks of the Trade, the Magikarp salesman again offered to sell James a Magikarp as part of a set for 30,000 yen instead of 10,000 yen for just the Magikarp alone (for only $300 instead of the normal price of $500 in the English dub).

In The Fortune Hunters, James found a silver-colored coin with a Poké Ball design on the ground (an 1867 silver dollar in the English dub).

In Doin' What Comes Natu-rally, the Magikarp salesman offered to sell James a Magikarp as part of a set for only 10,000 yen instead of his normal price of 30,000 yen ($500 instead of the normal price of $1,000 in the English dub).

In Mutiny in the Bounty!, a tray of coins was shown in a flashback when Officer Jenny described Pokémon Hunter J's past actions.

Pokémon Origins

Money was mentioned in File 2: Cubone, where Red was seen buying a Magikarp for $500 (¥500 in the Japanese version) from the Magikarp salesman on Route 4 with the prize money he had earned.

In the manga

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

A 5-yen coin appeared in Attack of the Demon Stomach, where Ash attempted to use it as a pendulum to put a Snorlax asleep, but instead ended up putting himself to sleep. It was left as-is in the English-language releases by VIZ Media in both the monthly issue and collected volume versions.

Pokémon Adventures

Red, Green & Blue arc

In Wake Up—You're Snorlax!, Red participated in a bike race, where the main prize included 1,000,000 yen. Although he ended up winning, he was forced to spend all of his prize money to feed a hungry Snorlax. In the English-language releases, this amount was localized as 10,000 in prize money using an exchange rate of 100 yen per dollar, and the yen symbol on the money bags was replaced with the dollar symbol in the VIZ Media first edition and the Chuang Yi edition.

In Wartortle Wars, Green sold Red a set of items for 6000 yen, although they all soon turned out to be ineffective and useless. In the English-language releases, this amount was localized as $6000.

Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon arc

Sun's goal for the arc was to collect 100 million yen (localized as a million dollars in the English-language releases, using an exchange rate of 100 yen per dollar) in order to reclaim his great-grandfather's island back from the Aether Foundation so that he could realize his dream of building the Poké Pelago on it. When he ultimately failed at this, he decided to instead use the money to build the Poké Pelago elsewhere.

Gallery

In other languages

Money

Language Title
Chinese Cantonese 零用錢 Lìhngyuhngchín
Mandarin 零用錢 Língyòngqián *
零花钱 Línghuāqián *
  French Argent
Arg.GSC
  German Geld
  Italian Soldi
  Korean 용돈 Yongdon
  Portuguese Dinheiro*
  Spanish Dinero
Din.GSC
MonedaRBY

Pokémon DollarColo[8] / Pokémon DollarXD / Poké Dollar[6][7]

Language Title
French   Canada Dollar Pokémon[8]
Dollar Poké[7]
  Europe Poké Dollar[9][10][3][5]
ArgentColoXD
  German Pokédollar[2][11]
Poké-Dollar[12]
GeldColoXD
  Italian Pokédollaro[13]
Soldi[14]
SoldiColoXD
  Russian Покедоллар Pokédollar[15]
  Spanish Pokécuarto[16][17]
DineroColoXD

References

  1. Transportation Expenses In Japan: Cost Of Trains, Buses, Taxis, And Rental Cars
  2. 2.0 2.1 Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen: "Heh, Lady! Haste mal einen Pokédollar?" (English equivalent: "Hey, hey, lady! Fork over some spending money!")
  3. 3.0 3.1 Pokémon Black 2 and White 2: "J'ai pas le temps pour vos remarques à deux Poké Dollars!" (English equivalent: "I'm not gonna listen to villains like you!")
  4. Pokémon Black 2 and White 2: "De toute façon, les peluches n'utilisent pas la même monnaie que les humains. Si tu veux m'acheter, va falloir revenir avec des poupédollars!" (English equivalent: "First of all, I'm a Plush Toy. What am I supposed to do with money?!")
  5. 5.0 5.1 Pokémon Sun and Moon: "La mistinguette Vicky, des labos secrets, m'a confié que chacune de ces Balls coûterait un trillion de Poké Dollars, si ce n'est plus !" (English equivalent: "I asked Madam Wicke, who works in the secret labs, and she said a single ball costs millions!")
  6. 6.0 6.1 Pokémon Colosseum (Instruction Booklet), p. 13
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Pokémon Colosseum (Instruction Booklet / Mode d'emploi), p. 35 (English/French)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (Instruction Booklet / Mode d'emploi), p. 35 (English/French)
  9. Pokémon Colosseum (Mode d'emploi), p. 9 (French)
  10. Pokémon XD : Le souffle des ténèbres (Mode d'emploi), p. 11 (French)
  11. Pokémon XD: Der Dunkle Sturm (Spielanleitung), p. 11 (German)
  12. Pokémon Colosseum (Spielanleitung), p. 9 (German)
  13. Pokémon XD: Tempesta Oscura (Manuale di istruzioni), p. 11 (Italian)
  14. Pokémon Colosseum (Manuale di istruzioni), p. 9 (Italian)
  15. Мир Pokemon post on VK (Russian)
  16. Pokémon Colosseum (Manual de instrucciones), p. 9 (Spanish)
  17. Pokémon XD: Tempestad oscura (Manual de instrucciones), p. 11 (Spanish)