The Bigger Picture To Pokemon

[NohBuddy2016]

I've always wondered... outside of what we can see clearly, and outside of what the creators may have intended, do you feel there is more to Pokemon than what is plainly obvious? Is Pokemon more harmful than helpful? Is there some deeper unnseen purpose to either the anime or the video games? Is Pokemon the only child oriented series that seems to connect more with adults than children?

Like, I've spent a good long while looking at both the games and the anime, and aside from the obvious life lessons (such as "never take someone for granted", "friends may come and go, but will never be forgotten", and a few others), as well as many negative life lessons (such as "putting animals up against each other for entertainment is okay", "being #1 is the only objective you should try for, cause #2 is just as bad as #3 and #4 and #5", "at a young age, you should be allowed to adventure on your own") and so on.

Don't get me wrong, I love Pokemon unconditionally, it is a major part of my childhood that'll never go away... but I can't help but feel that in some way, Pokemon was actually more hazardous to me than it was helpful. Obviously, this may or may not be the case, or may just be me overthinking everything, but my mind is genuinely curious...

...is there a deeper meaning or purpose to the Pokemon franchise than the developers had in mind?

 

[jjc927]

As far as the battling in the show, much of it is for the purpose of strengthening the Pokemon and to demonstrate the skills of the trainer and the Pokemon. That and for protection and stopping Team Rocket or another enemy. Hurting other Pokemon is not the intent except in rare cases. The battles are the main entertainment for the show, but it's all fictional and fantasy and not meant to promote battling real animals.

I like that the show promotes a message of not giving up and to strive to be the best you can be. With the overrewarding of merely participating we see today, it's refreshing to see looking to be the best and working hard for it present in Pokemon. However, the show also demonstrates that if you do lose you have to think about what you did wrong and then train and do better the next time and that sulking about it doesn't make anything better.

I think Pokemon resonates with adults because many of us have grown up with it and it looks like a lot of people have stuck with it since the beginning or since when they started watching. Nostalgia is a big factor, but unlike other long lasting shows we grew up with like Spongebob Squarepants and Arthur, Pokemon hasn't suffered from a huge drop in quality.

 

[jjc927]

If there is a deep lesson to learn I think it would be to treat living things and others with respect because it is necessary to keep the balance of nature. It's something that's shown in one way or another in many episodes, and we see in some episodes and the movies the consequences of not following this lesson.