Mon (monster)
A rough term for various sorts of fictional creatures in anime and manga modeled after real or imaginary animals or beings. Having the benefit of being cute, fearsome, and numerous - sometimes almost simultaneously, they are very marketable.Although they are featured in a variety of series, some basic design similarities persist, most famously the ones in Digimon, Pokemon, and Monster Rancher.
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The appearance changes drastically as it matures during its lifecycle, often by important events rather than or in addition to simple time progression. Generally, in video games they begin as eggs, then small, cute slime-like creatures which must be cared for and raised. When incorporated into storylines, mon who are raised by or work with humans (almost always young children who have great affection for them) are usually said to have special powers due to this affectionate bond. Generally, the periodic physical changes (roughly but semantically misnamed evolutions) are accompanied by an increase in power, but not always versatility.
In some series TM-style Mon are intraspecies compatible (can breed with each other within physical reason) Pokemon while others do not breed at all Digimon). Interestingly, although many mon are sentient creatures, they often merely repeat their names as babies, as Pokemon do constantly.
Most creatures go through a maximum of 3 'natural', irreversible (non-induced) evolutions.Tamagotchi-style Mon
Pokemon