Who hasn't dreamed of traveling the world of Pokemon like Ash Ketchum through wondrous regions, catching Pokemon and battling other trainers to become the best of all? Whether it's anime, video games, card games, the franchise never fails to capture the hearts of people around the world.
The concept of Pokémon
But stop and think, though, that the overall concept of Pokémon as a franchise is quite disturbing. Pokémon are born free, until they are chased by humans and captured. They are then kept locked in a Pokeball until their coach deigns to let them out alone to train or fight. The Pokémon (most of them) abide by their trainer's orders without question. These creatures are electrocuted, burned, frozen, poisoned, mentally confused, and defeated until they can no longer continue. The crowds that watch this get more and more excited, and in the end it is the coaches who get the credit.
The concept of Pokémon slavery was masterfully explored in episode # 11 of the first season titled “Charmander, the Forsaken Pokémon!” Which showed how Ash and company found a Charmander lying on a rock waiting for his trainer. Damián, who ordered him to wait there until he returned. Damien actually considered Charmander too weak and bragged to his friends for abandoning him. The Pokémon's blind loyalty was so strong that it remained waiting on the rock even during a thunderstorm and almost dying before being rescued. It was not until the end of the episode that Charmander considered his own worth and aspirations, and decided to disobey his abusive coach's order. A happy ending, fortunately.
But that's not all, recently Pocket Monsters, the new season of Pokémon introduced Gengar, the second Pokémon captured by Ash so far in the series. Gengar was left by his coach with the promise that one day he would return for him. It was not until three years passed that Gengar understood that he had been abandoned, and in his fury he began to cause problems in the place and also took revenge on his former coach. Fortunately, Ash and Gengar have a chance to fight Team Rocket together, and finally Gengar hands Ash a Pokeball, proving that he trusts him and wants to be captured.
Of course Ash's Pikachu has more freedoms than ordinary Pokemon - he never enters his Pokeball and travels freely. But how true is this? Pikachu participates in battles following Ash's instructions, often at a disadvantage (because Ash loves to go against the advantages between types) and always fighting to the point of exhaustion. Despite barely getting out of dangerous situations alive, he never hesitates to fight for victory. However, when Ash considers leaving Pikachu with his own kind, feeling bad for just seeking his personal gain, Pikachu decides to give it up and stay with him. It is a rare moment of genuine free will on the part of a Pokémon towards a trainer.
Free will?
Charizard in this sense would be the antithesis of what Pikachu represents, refusing to obey Ash's orders at first and only fighting against opponents that he considers worthy of his time and effort. Perhaps due to his past (he is the same Charmander from the previous paragraphs, obviously after evolving), Charizard shows great distrust towards others and is reluctant to just do what he likes. Ash gains his loyalty by admitting his weaknesses, which inspires Charizard to work with him in a relationship of mutual respect and conviction to be better.
Furthermore, Team Rocket's Meowth takes the Pokémon's concept of free will further, developing the ability to communicate, walk, think, and even read on the same level as humans. Meowth understands ideas such as the search for happiness, pride, despair, the analysis of a situation and the desire to achieve a better life than today. Despite being a villain, a jester, and using puns in conjunction with Jessie and James, Meowth proves that the life of a Pokemon without a trainer is incredibly happier than living by swearing blind allegiance.
The relationships between the Pokémon and their trainers are quite complex to analyze, but not everything is pessimism. Most trainers love their Pokémon deeply, creating strong and long-lasting bonds of friendship, and caring for them as their pets. Video game players can create the same feeling for their Pokémon, which became the main attraction of the Poké Recreo functionality, introduced in Pokémon X & Y games, since players can feed, cuddle and play with your favorite Pokémon.
If we ignore the fact that the Pokémon fight each other until they are knocked out, then you go to the hospital to force a recovery and repeat the cycle again, really the life of these creatures is not so bad. And although there are a few exceptions, they accept the things that come into their lives without a second thought.
Source: CBR
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