So if you lived through the height of Pokemon’s popularity, you know it took the world by storm. Kids wouldn’t shut up about it and adults didn’t understand it. All they saw was a bunch of cute Japanese designed critters killing their wallets and detracting kids from school and hobbies they’d rather them enjoy. What people fail to notice is that the Pokemon franchise, Like a lot of media during the late 90’s, has close ties to nature and an environmental message.
Most pokemon are modeled off real life animals, use an elemental power of nature and can be found deep in the wilderness. A Pokemon trainer has to go out into nature in order to capture and train them. This is the plot of nearly every game and there’s a reason for this. Satoshi Tajiri, the head creator of Pokemon was a big bug catcher as a kid. As such, He was dissapointed that urbanization had destroyed that opportunity for many children in Japan. Pokemon was created in order to give children some of the feelings he had has a kid.
The intrusion upon nature being bad for Pokemon and humans alike is a massive theme in all areas of the pokemon franchise. For example, In the gold and silver versions of the game respectively, The villianous Team Rocket develops a device that deeply disturbs the Pokemon of the Lake of Rage. Even earlier in the game, they can be found poaching Slowpoke to profit off their tails.
In addition, the Pokemon anime has numerous episodes dealing with pollution, mistreatment of animals and the problems it can cause. In “Tentacool and Tentacruel” A group of jellyfish Pokemon attack a human city that’s disturbing their habitat. In “Sparks fly for Magnemite” A city suffering from huge amounts of pollution has their Power plant disturbed by Grimers and a Muk, Pokemon that thrive in polluted in environment.
One of the strongest of these episodes “Dig those Diglett”. In this episode, the mole Pokemon called diglett are Sabotaging efforts to build a dam. Pokemon trainers from across the land come to Stop the Diglett, but they discover that their Pokemon refuse to fight for their trainers. No one is sure why this is, but Ash and his friends discover that the Diglett work help grow tree’s for the valley.
Slowly, the human characters discover Diglett and Dugtrio (an evolved Diglett) planting trees. From this discovery, they realize that they were protecting the forests they had planted and the the creation of the damn would destroy the forest and hurt or displace the pokemon living there. The episodes gives not only an idea that humans shouldn’t disturb nature but it explains that nature is interconnected. Even if it’s not with real animals, it explains directly how changing one part of nature can have disastrous effects in areas they didn’t anticipate.
The Pokemon franchise is more then silly gimmick to sells toys, It was made in response to the problems urbanization and disrespect to nature can cause. It reminds us that these problems of nature will ultimately become problems for humanity itself. It’s still a franchise for kids but the message it projects is useful for everyone.
Nerd Wisdom 