Politics in Pokémon
Politics in Pokémon
I love Pokémon, it's my special interest, I've been playing since Gen 1 and have pretty extensive knowledge about the Pokémon world.
However since becoming a communist I've realized that a lot of things are missing from the world, including basic functions on how everything works. Just the presence of police implies there are laws that have to be enforced, which in turn implies people write those laws, etc. We know that there was an industrial revolution, which led to capitalism, being the economic system in all Pokémon regions, meaning all of the contradictions that come with it. There was a war that took place, as alluded to by Lt. Surge, who might actually be from Unova.
In the manga there's the Pokémon Association (PA), a legislative body that determines the laws involving Pokémon, similar to Congress here in the U.S., with each region apparently having its own PA.
In the anime they have the Pokémon Inspection Agency (PIA) that inspects Gyms to see if they're up to par.
They don't explicitly talk about politics and political views (obviously because the series is marketed to kids) but I think exploring these mechanisms could be really interesting, if not for the fact that Pokémon adds another layer to politics because they're creatures with a material effect on the world.
Some people might be more left leaning when it comes to economics and social issues, but might be more right leaning when it comes to trainer regulations.
I'm curious to know what other people think, I'm actually writing a story that explores some of these themes so I'd love to get some ideas!
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The Pokemon world is so empty of non-battle things that it's hard to talk politics at all. I think the game that had the most substance was Legends Arceus with its parallels to Japanese colonization, but even then it was all subtext.
Besides that, there's an international police with Looker and I think a PokeBall monopoly based in Kalos. Also there was that Pokemon world war that took place 3,000 years ago (I forgot what it was about though)
The Pokemon world is so empty of non-battle things that it's hard to talk politics at all.
Really? There are people who love Pokémon so much they might want to restrict or ban battling, if they all came together couldn't they make a political party? What about trainers who don't want the government interfering in how they train Pokémon? What about regulations that might be necessary to improve the lives of Trainers and Pokémon alike?
There's actually climate change affecting Pokémon, a consequence of the industrial revolution.
Idk, I think there's a lot to talk about. Maybe it's just me that thinks about this kinda stuff.
I meant institutional stuff, there's usually not much more than the gyms and bad guys. I don't think there ever has been a government in a Pokemon game besides, arguably, the champions and gym leaders.
Regarding climate change, aren't all the pollution Pokemon a direct result of human wastefulness? I mean the Muk, Weezing, and Garbodor lines + their variants. There's also trash cloak Burmy and Wormadam. Though idk if these Pokemon are meant to be a critique because they're treated the same as any other Pokemon, really.
Yes I also meant institutional things...that's why I mentioned police, with police there are laws, where there are laws people have to write them, and so on...these things aren't explicit like I said, they're implied..
Yes, the pollution Pokémon are result of industrial waste, and now they rely on the same waste that caused them...isn't that dialectical?
I'm also pulling my information from the manga, which also provides a better idea of how the games would look in real life.
Oh, I haven't read the manga I've only played the games (mostly on 3ds).
The thing about the regular police is that you never get to visit their stations or see them in action so we have to guess at what they're doing and why. Same goes for most other professions that show up as trainer types - they're just set dressing. Within the games, anyway. I'm sure there's a lot more worldbuilding in the manga and anime.
And something I find weird about the pollution Pokemon is that they low-key portray pollution as a good thing? What I mean by that is that they're treated as just another Pokemon to adopt, befriend, battle, etc. So contaminating the environment creates more Pokemon to collect! And cleaning things up will lead to their extinction, so pollution is necessary for their conservation. Kinda puts Pokemon professors (and the player by extension) at odds with environmentalism 🤔
There is a lot of worldbuilding if you look at the manga, games and anime alongside each other and use what makes sense....unless it's Thunder Armor 🤦🏿♂️
I don't think Pokémon portrays pollution as a good thing, Pokémon as a result of pollution is considered to be a problem, and because they can't be exterminated there needs to be a balance between them and humans.
The manga explores this, it's actually why the Elite Four want to literally genocide all humans, because they honestly believe a world without humans would be beneficial to Pokémon.
Pollution Pokemon can't be exterminated? I thought there was a Pokedex entry that said one of them is soon to go extinct but I could be wrong.
Which elite four do you mean? Are you talking about the plot from black and white with Ghetsis and stuff? Tbh he makes good points about Pokemon cockfighting that go unaddressed.
I mean...why would they do that? There's no active extermination campaign going on as far as I'm aware. Instead they leave places like the Power Plant in Kanto as a wild habitat. I'm not sure which one you could be referring to besides prehistoric Pokémon.
The Kanto Elite Four served as the primary antagonists for Yellow in the manga, seeking to wipe out most of humanity in order to create a utopia for Pokémon.
Also...no, Ghetsis does not make any good points because 1) Pokémon battling isn't just cockfighting as they already battle in nature, it's humans that are able to bring out their fullest potential, and 2) because the idea of "is it okay to own Pokémon" has probably long since been talked about before and addressed already, and the fact that humans and Pokémon have been living together for thousands of years even before modern battling and the Pokémon League.
Quoting Drayden, Gym Leader of Opelucid:
The cooperation of people and Pokémon is how Unova came to exist to begin with. If a Pokémon really didn't want anything to do with humans, it would simply leave... Capturing a Pokémon in a Poké Ball doesn't mean you've captured its heart.
The Pokemon I was thinking of is OG Muk in the Alolan games. Here's its entry in Moon:
After recent environmental improvements, this Pokémon is now hardly seen at all. People speculate that it may go extinct at some point.
And in Ultra Moon it says that people are trying to kill them all:
Because they scatter germs everywhere, they've long been targeted for extermination, leading to a steep decline in their population.
But in Ultra Sun, it says that people pollute on purpose to keep them around:
Their food sources have decreased, and their numbers have declined sharply. Sludge ponds are being built to prevent their extinction.
It's kinda funny how in the Pokemon world, dumping trash helps wildlife and cleaning up kills them.
Anyway I find it very questionable how much consent Pokemon really have after they're captured. I mean, aren't all of team plasma's Pokemon stolen and being used against their will? Plus I doubt that the hundreds of creatures that I've got rotting away in my computer are happy about that. Or all the competitive incest breeding...