Pokemon, a video role-playing game created by the Japanese game designer Satoshi Tajiri for Nintendo Inc., is now finding its way into U.S. classrooms in the form of a supplemental educational game for students.

Based on the popular and long-running franchise, Pokemon Learning League is a web-based suite of interactive lessons in language arts, math, science, and life skills for students in grades 3-6.

Characters from the Pokemon series, animated in the bug-eyed, hip-hop-infused tradition of Japanese Manga, take part in storylines that teach lessons aligned with state and national standards. Pokemon USA Inc., the distributor of the brand outside Japan, says the components of the Learning League are developed by education writers and producers and are evaluated by an advisory board of elementary educators and ed-tech professionals.

The game is delivered via a three-step, "scaffolded" process in which students are first introduced to educational concepts as they watch a short segment featuring the Pokemon characters. Students then are presented with a problem for which they must collaborate to reach a solution. After that, they must apply what they have learned to interactive challenges.

There are more than 150 different species of creature, or Pokemon, in the Pokemon World. Players in the game--students, who are referred to as Pokemon trainers--are charged with teaching the creatures and helping them evolve to battle villains. Each player, or team of players, receives points based on how well he or she carries out the various strategies. The trainers work with adult mentor characters who guide them through the process of evolving their Pokemon, teaching the creatures right from wrong and helping them to hone the skills that will best exploit each creature's inherent traits in battle.

The company says the characters in the Pokemon World demonstrate "pro-social" behaviors and are meant to emphasize important social values such as teamwork, friendship, skill building, and being a good student.

Yves Saada, vice president of interactive media for Pokemon USA, said the Pokemon Learning League evolved from the recommendations of parents, many of whom believe in the inherent educational value of Pokemon content.

"Parents will often tell me their kids learned to count and read from the Pokemon trading-card game," Saada said. "The Learning League mixes the animation from the TV show and develops the content according to standards. It is web-based, meant for supplemental use in schools, in virtual schools, and on home networks."

So, what's the secret to the brand's success with kids?

"What we're really focusing on is creating a product that kids will like," says Saada. "Once kids like it, teachers will. ... [In the] Pokemon video games, users compete to get a badge of honor, for example, a badge of geometry. Kids are coming back every day to the site, play with it, learning with it. Almost organically, teachers will be drawn to the product, once we have demonstrated that it is very efficient."