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Gray text = Original content (this page; 2004) (+ related ep. updates, notes)
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 Blue text = Additional content (2004-12) |
 Pokémon: The Best (Animal) Show You're Not Watching...
Page 2 - Protecting Pokémon

ust like with animals in our world, there are some people who exploit Pokémon for their own personal gain, abuse, or abandon them. As a general rule, most people raise Pokémon to be companions and partners in life, work, and battle, and that Pokémon are not ours to merely use as objects or tools, as some unfortunately do. Furthermore, those 'good' and 'bad' individuals are a lot more clearly defined in the Pokémon world than as is often the case in ours.
And while such animal issues in our world are often obscured through bureaucracy and controlled by extremists on either side, the kindness toward Pokémon and the desire to care for them and protect them from harm is defined by those who choose to follow their hearts, rather than politics.
Related episode(s):
"Tentacool and Tentacruel" (Pokémon [first season]) - habitat development
-The jellyfish Pokémon fight back against developers building on their ocean home
"Dig Those Diglett!" (Pokémon [first season]) - habitat development
-Pokémon trainers are recruited to stop Diglett from interfering with a development project, but their Pokémon refuse
"The Breeding Center Secret" (Pokémon [first season]) - abuse/profit
-A luxury Pokémon spa is a front for cramped cages and a Team Rocket plot to steal rare Pokémon
"The Mystery Menace" (Pokémon [Orange Islands; second season]) - removal/personal gain
-Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny oppose a politician's order to destroy a Pokémon inhabiting city sewers
"The Underground Roundup" (Pokémon [Orange Islands; second season]) - humane relocation
-A Pokémon wrangler offers a humane alternative to the cruel conventional method of removing Electrode from town
"For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll" (Pokémon Master Quest [fifth season])
-The story of the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh, who will only return to Earth when peace among people and Pokémon is achieved
"On Olden Pond" (Pokémon Battle Frontier [ninth season]) - habitat development -A greedy developer changes his plans after realizing the Dragonair that inhabits the condemned lake saved his life
"Riding the Winds of Change!" (Pokémon DP Battle Dimension [eleventh season]) - humane relocation
-Ash and friends help Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy return a group of displaced Gligar, led by Gliscor, to their forest home
"Steeling Peace of Mind!" {Iron Island, part 1} (Pokémon DP Galactic Battles [twelfth season])
"Saving the World From Ruins" {Iron Island, part 2} (Pokémon DP Galactic Battles [twelfth season]) -disregard/personal gain -Radio waves generated by Team Galactic's excavation of the ruins of Iron Island causes Steel-type Pokémon intense pain; Ash and his friends make a difficult decision to help Riley and his Lucario to attack the suffering Pokémon before they cause further injury to themselves and others
"A Venepide Stampede!"* (Pokémon Black & White [fourteenth season]) - humane relocation
-Several trainers including Trip decide the only way to deal with the hundreds of Venipede swarming Castelia City is to attack them, but Ash and gym leader Burgh try to understand and relocate the Pokémon without hurting them
*Due to circumstances beyond control and to maintain plot consistency, the ending of the English version has been edited
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Related movie(s):
"Revelation Lugia!" (Movie 2; Japanese only; English dub version not recommended)
-To bring forth Lugia, the God of the Sea, a Pokémon collector removes Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos from their respective environments, intending to place all of the legendary birds on display in his private collection
"Giratina and the Sky Warrior" (Movie 11)
-A scientist obsessed with the Reverse World, home to legendary Pokémon Giratina, ignores his former partner's research which concluded that for travel between the Real and Reverse worlds to be possible, Giratina would be sacrificed; meanwhile a rather ungrateful Shaymin, through Ash's commitment to Pokémon, learns a lesson in gratitude
"Pokémon the Movie White: Victini and Zekrom"/"Pokémon the Movie Black: Victini and Reshiram" (Movie 14)
-Alternate versions of the story of a man's desire to restore the Kingdom of the Vale and reunite its people, but
when Damon's good intentions threaten the legendary Victini's life, Ash attests that the pursuit of truth/ideals is never worth the sacrifice of a Pokémon
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Related game(s):
Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow, Pokémon Fire Red/Leaf Green
(GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, GameCube+GameBoy Player)
-Original and full-color classic Kanto quest, still the most sinister Team Rocket RPG plot to date
Pokémon Ranger (Nintendo DS)
-As a newly-appointed ranger, show your compassion and devotion protecting Pokémon and preserving nature in the Fiore region
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (Nintendo DS) Highly recommended!
-Help stop a new sinister plot in the Almia region by befriending Pokémon who are mysteriously being controlled by machines
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (Nintendo DS)
-Protect the Oblivia region by exposing a secret organization who's controlling and exploiting the powers of legendary Pokémon
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f course, while the main plot of the animé centers around battles and badges, I cannot stress enough the issues Pokémon has covered which are parallel to animal issues addressed in our world. Johto's Master Quest (5th) season showcased a variety of episodes which called for an even more peaceful existence between humans and Pokémon (the aforementioned "For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll") to a look inside the tortured mind of a newborn Larvitar, terrified of humans and plagued by painful memories of being stolen as an egg from its mother by poachers ("Address Unown", etc... [see hunting/poaching below]). Also featured during that season were multi-part sagas in which the deeper, darker side of Giovanni's Team Rocket is seen (it's not all Jessie and James "Let's nab Pikachu and give the twerps a hard time"). The stories of taking a parent and baby Lugia from their home in the sea - and each other - and more genetic engineering gone wrong resulting in an enraged, red (a deformation of its normal blue color) Gyarados prove that Pokémon is more than just a game. As a writer, Pokémon has been more of an inspiration (one of many) to me than the age-old stand-bys. And hopefully, being that these and other Pokémon stories are on television and not in the movies, both new and old viewers can see them and draw their own conclusions, instead of having their minds already made up for them by critics who still can't pronounce or even spell Pokémon.
Related episode(s):
"The Mystery Is History" {Lugia; part 1} (Pokémon Master Quest [fifth season])
"A Parent Trapped" {Lugia; part 2} (Pokémon Master Quest [fifth season])
"A Promise is a Promise" {Lugia; part 3} (Pokémon Master Quest [fifth season])
-A Team Rocket scientist uses an infant Lugia to lure its parent into an experiment that measures a Pokémon's power by an artificially-induced rage
"Talkin' 'Bout an Evolution" {Red Gyarados; part 1} (Pokémon Master Quest [fifth season])
"Rage Of Innocence" {Red Gyarados; part 2} (Pokémon Master Quest [fifth season])
-The forced evolution of a Magikarp causes rage and destruction from its evolved form Gyarados, through no fault of its own
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till not convinced? Consider this...in our world, the act of 'hunting' (humans killing 'game' animals - a sport that does not exist in the Pokémon world) defines that which is legal and justifiable, whereas 'poaching' (humans killing or capturing 'protected' animals) is immoral and against the law. In the world of Pokémon, the terms 'hunting' and 'poaching' (also the labels 'hunter' and 'poacher') are used interchangeably and both refer to the illegal trapping (capture for profit and/or without the intent of proper training and care), injuring, and exploitation of wild Pokémon.
Related episode(s):
"Address Unown" (Pokémon Master Quest [early sixth season]) Highly recommended!
-After reaching into its subconscious, Ash finally learns why his newborn Larvitar is so terrified of humans
"Mother of All Battles!" (Pokémon Master Quest [early sixth season])
-While returning Larvitar to its home, Ash confronts the poachers who initially captured it and are now targeting its mother
"A Poached Ego" (Japanese ['Rocket Dan! Goodbye by Way of Fury Swipes'] preferred; Pokémon Advanced [sixth season]) -Jessie and James must part with their beloved Arbok and Weezing to protect wild Ekans and Koffing from hunters
"The Drifting Snorunt" (Pokémon DP Galactic Battles [twelfth season])
-Ash & friends and Team Rocket help a Froslass regain its trust in humans by saving its friend, a Snorunt, from a poacher
"Guarding the Guardian of the Mountain" (Pokémon BW Rival Destinies [fifteenth season])
-Ash and Krokorok help gym leader Brycen defeat a Pokémon hunter who is intent on capturing and selling a protected Volcarona
n the Diamond & Pearl series, this is best illustrated in the episodes featuring Pokémon Hunter J, whose merciless pursuit of Pokémon who are then bought and sold like objects is driven by profit, attacking anyone - human or Pokémon - who stands in the way of her target. And in an attempt to justify her actions, she often insists her victims 'be grateful' for having their power or beauty preserved frozen in stasis. In turn, Hunter J brings out a determination in our heroes defined not just by laws, but a raw passion to protect these innocent creatures.
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Related episode(s):
"Mutiny in the Bounty" (Pokémon Diamond & Pearl [tenth season]) -Ruthless Pokémon Hunter J traps and sells Pokémon, utilizing a cruel new device for displaying live Pokémon
"Ill-Will Hunting" (Pokémon Diamond & Pearl [tenth season]) -Pokémon Hunter J is commissioned to capture rare Shieldon, but Ash, Gary, and friends refuse to let her succeed
"Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu" parts 1 & 2 (Pokémon DP Battle Dimension [eleventh season]) Highly recommended! -Ash emotionally connects with a Riolu, who recently escaped another group of thieves and is now being pursued by Hunter J, and helps to return it to its kingdom
"Pillars of Friendship" (Pokémon DP Galactic Battles [twelfth season])
-Regigigas is nearly captured by Hunter J; Brandon then vows to protect Regigigas with his three Regi's as the pillars of Snowpoint Temple
"The Needs of the Three" (Pokémon DP Galactic Battles [twelfth season])
-Hired by Team Galactic, Hunter J succeeds in capturing the legendary lake Pokémon; moments later, in a final act of justice, Uxie and Mesprit's Future Sight hits, and Sinnoh's most infamous villain goes down in flames
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"I still can't get over J...how cruel can you get? And to think, people like that actually exist."
-Dawn ("Mutiny in the Bounty" [Pokémon Diamond & Pearl])

Campaigns
Text and artwork copyright © 2000-2013 by Kimberly (RageOfInnocence)
Pokémon © Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo/Creatures, Inc./Game Freak, The Pokémon Company International
The beautiful screenshots of Ash, Pikachu, and their friends and Pokémon are from various themes and episodes from Pokémon (Kanto/Orange Islands/Johto series), Advanced Generation, Diamond & Pearl, and Best Wishes!/Black & White |
kimsites.net
Dream Valley | Oak Branch Woods | We All Live in a Pokémon World | Kimberly's Attic
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