Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle used with permission from All-Creatures.org

For the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Pokémon games, Jon Hochschartner reflects on the theme of animal exploitation at the heart of the franchise.

Pokémania and animal rights
From Jon Hochschartner, Slaughter-Free America, slaughterfreeamerica.substack.com
March 2026

Photo from Erik Mclean, Pexels/Canva

The other day, I was scrolling through the news headlines, when I came across an article celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pokémon, a milestone which reminded me I’m getting old. For those who have been living under a rock for the past thirty years, Pokémon is a multimedia franchise set in a world where humans live in a world filled with magical animals who employ a diverse range of special abilities. The first games in the series, Pokémon Red and Blue, were released in Japan in 1996, before being published internationally in 1998.

That’s when I encountered the series as an 11-year-old living outside San Francisco. My friends and I quickly got swept up in what became a global craze, called Pokémania. I had the red version, choosing to begin the game in possession of a charmander — a small, fire-breathing lizard who evolves into a giant, dragon-like creature. In contrast, my best friends at the time, Billy and Luis, had the blue version and started with a squirtle and bulbasour. The former animal was a kind of turtle and the latter was a four-legged, plant-inspired creature.

We were obsessed with Pokémon. We played it during rehearsal breaks for the school performance. We played it on the drive to track practice. We played it at each other’s homes. We hooked up our Gameboys so we could battle and trade our fantastical menageries. We watched the animated show which premiered in the United States alongside the initial games. We read about the series in Nintendo Power, the official magazine of the Pokémon games’ publisher, which we all subscribed to. Then I abruptly set the series aside the following year.

My family moved back to the Adirondacks after more than half a decade away. I was starting middle school with a new cohort of kids. On some level, I must have known Pokémon was seen as a nerdy, juvenile pursuit, and I would do better socially not to be associated with it. I quietly revisited Pokémon Red early in high school, but haven’t returned to the franchise since then. On the series’ 30th anniversary, part of me wants to go back to Pallet Town. I’m a little reluctant, though, for altogether different reasons than I had in middle school.

As an adult, I became a vegan activist, opposed to all forms of domestication and violence against animals. I try not to get too bothered by content I regard as problematic in cultural offerings, otherwise I’d miss out on most art. Still, animal use in Pokémon is different than it is in, say, games like The Legend Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Last of Us. In the latter, horseback riding and hunting play a peripheral role to the story and mechanics. In the former, capturing, trading and fighting creatures is more than central. It’s the whole experience.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals actually released a satirical Pokémon game in 2012, poking fun at the franchise’s exploitative premise. I’ll probably revisit the original Gameboy titles, indulging the nostalgia while keeping a certain amount of critical distance. I wonder, though, if there is a different way to enjoy the familiar fantasy world. For instance, I vaguely recall a Nintendo 64 title called Pokémon Snap, in which, instead of catching wild animals, players took photographs of them. Maybe I’ll give that game a try.

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Posted on All-Creatures: March 5, 2025
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