Pokémon’s Environmental Motifs Throughout the Years
From the outside, though the concept of having make-believe critters fight to the “faint” may not be ethically or environmentally acceptable, the plots of the stories can provide insight on real world issues. Read more to find out how the different generations of Pokémon teach us about various world events and environmental problems.
Pokémon’s Environmental Motifs Throughout the Years
For many people, Pokémon was an integral part of their childhoods. Some of you may recall spending your weekends watching the next Pokémon episode on TV, or training the Pokémon you caught in one of the many games released. Even if you weren’t an avid consumer of the franchise, there’s no doubt you’ve at least seen Pokémon in the media or heard of the lovable pokémon mascot: Pikachu. Many lovers of the franchise feel drawn to Pokémon because of the cute and lovable companions you can experience your journey with.
From the start, the Pokémon franchise has been an eco-conscious game. Pokémon’s creator, Satoshi Tajiri, created this project because of his love of insect collecting, which explains Gen 1’s abundance of cute and lovable bug type Pokémon. He wished to provide kids in urban areas the same joy of exploring different terrains and environments, while searching and catching different creatures and insects. Tajiri’s love for animals shows through his work, as many of the storylines in Pokémon mirror real-world events and issues.
Gen 1 and Gen 2
In the first two games of the Pokémon series, Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon Gold and Silver, the main vigilante group of the storyline was the notorious Team Rocket. Team Rocket’s goals were quite simple: to take over the world using the power of Pokémon. The famous and lovable antagonists of the Pokémon anime — Jessie, James, and Meowth — were Team Rocket’s Grunts, whose main objective was stealing Ash’s (the main character) unusually strong Pikachu.
Poaching
This plotline, while used as comedic relief in the anime, represents real life poaching, which is the capture or killing of rare or exotic animals (capturing in this case) for one’s own personal gain.
Poaching and animal trafficking is run similarly to illegal gun and weapon trading. Underground businesses kill or capture animals to sell them or their parts for profit. It’s a million dollar industry that leaves dozens of species at risk of endangerment. Animals like elephants are killed for their ivory tusks, and rhinoceroses are killed for their horns. Many animals are killed for their pelts to be used in fashion, including tigers and minks. The African and Asian pangolin are popularly hunted for their meat, skin, and scales. Exotic birds and fish are captured alive and taken from their habitat to be kept as pets, or displayed in zoos and aquariums. All of these species have become, or are at risk of becoming, endangered, largely due to illegal poaching.
Genetic modification
Genetic modification is also prevalent in the Pokémon universe, with the recurring character Mewtwo, introduced in Gen 1, being a representation of the real world problem. Mewtwo was made from the DNA of the legendary Pokémon Mew, which has the ability to transform into any Pokémon. Mewtwo was genetically modified to become a weapon used for wordly control. However, Mewtwo developed a resentment toward humans, and escaped the lab it was created in.
This is a nod toward the genetic modifications done to animals, dogs in particular, to make the animal more desirable to humans. It is typically done to dogs like pugs and teacup species to make them cuter, despite the detrimental effects these modifications have on the health of the animal.
The iconic squished-face look pugs possess, while cute, leads to major respiratory issues for the dogs. Teacup puppies are bred to be small and cute, but their fragility leads to bone problems and makes them prone to accidents. Dachshunds, for example, are bred to have short and stubby legs, which leads to problems in their joints and vertebrae. In this case, Mewtwo was genetically modified to be used as a destructive weapon for Team Rocket in order for them to achieve world domination, leading Mewtwo to hold a grudge against humankind.
Gen 3
The plotline of the 3rd generation game, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, was based on a real environmental dispute in the Japanese region Kyushu regarding the Isahaya Tidal Flats. In 1997, the Japanese government cut off water to the Isahaya bay and the tidal flats were drained in order to expand agricultural farm land. The fisherman protested this action, stating that it would disrupt their fishing and seaweed collection, and ruin the biodiversity in those lands. The flats were once filled with hundreds of different marine sea creatures, as well as migratory birds, but it has now been drained and replaced with farmland.
In 2010, the High Court ruled in favor of the fisherman and opted to open the floodgates to the Isahaya Tidal Flats, but the Nagasaki District court overruled that decision in 2017. This was due to the protests from the farmers who now used that land, since the water would flood their crops and ruin their farms.
In Pokémon, every generation has two games released, which vary slightly from each other. One of the variables changed in Gen 3’s games is the antagonistic groups that the player has to fight against throughout the story. In Pokémon Ruby, the opposing organization was called Team Magma, who wanted to expand the amount of landmass in the world using the legendary Pokémon Groudon. In Pokémon Sapphire, the opposing organization was Team Aqua, who wanted to flood the land and expand the sea using the legendary pokémon Kyogre.
This plotline is a clear parallel to the Isahaya events, with Team Magma representing the farmers and Team Aqua representing the fishermen. Both sides had goals they believed were “right,” but would come at the expense of the opposing side.
Gen 5
Although there have been debates on the ethicality of catching creatures and using them to engage in battle, it has been proven countless times that the relationship between humans and Pokémon in the Pokémon universe is relatively positive. In fact, this dilemma was addressed in Pokémon’s 5th generation game: Pokémon Black and White, released in 2010.
The villain group, Team Plasma, sought to liberate Pokémon from their trainers because they viewed owning Pokémon as a non-consensual and abusive relationship. This has been proven false, since a positive relationship between humans and Pokémon has been continuously emphasized throughout the series. This is especially prevalent in Gen 8, when a game mechanic was introduced where if your relationship with your Pokémon was positive enough, then that Pokémon could maintain one HP when hit in battle.
Still, throughout the game, Team Plasma are seen trying to steal trainers’ Pokémon, including those in the Pokémon universe who don’t engage in battles and simply keep Pokémon around for companionship. While their motives can’t necessarily be called evil, their methods were clearly questionable.
Team Plasma’s organization and motives directly correlates to the controversy surrounding a certain animal rights organization: PETA. While PETA’s concept is commendable, their ideals have been shown to be skewed, and the methods they use to reach their goals have been argued to be morally ambiguous.
One of these methods is the euthanization of perfectly healthy and adoptable pets because they think that death is a mercy to animals with “no one to love them.” Amanda Schinke, a spokesperson for PETA, states: “sometimes [animals] need the comfort of being put out of their misery — a painless release from a world in which they were abused and unwanted.” However, these animals were in perfect health and eligible for adoption, so rather than showing these animals “mercy,” the organization killed potential family members and best friends.
Another example is PETA’s reputation of taking away pets from households because they view pet ownership as “involuntary bondage.” In 2014, a chihuahua named Maya, who was the companion of 9 year old Cynthia Zarate, was seen unsupervised and unleashed, so Victoria Carey and Jennifer Wood, two women affiliated with PETA, took Maya and put her down. The Zarate family then sued the organization and won, obtaining $49,000 from the lawsuit.
Recap
From the outside, though the concept of having make-believe critters fight to the “faint” may not be ethically or environmentally acceptable, the plots of the stories can provide insight on real world issues. Pokémon references real-world issues through their plotlines and characters. Serious issues such as poaching, genetic modification, environmental disputes, the ethics of catching and using animals, and controversial organizations like PETA have been referenced in Pokémon. Different generations of Pokémon teach us about different events and problems through Tajiri’s creative and immersive storytelling, while allowing players to bond and evolve their digital companions.