Would you believe that at one time the very innocent Pikachu and all your other favorite Pokémon characters were linked to the occult? Probably not, but it is true. In the nineties Pokémon was combated by some religious groups who urged parents to avoid this game for their children.
Left Pondering
Many of us wondered how this series created for children could spawn such controversy. Recently while playing Pokémon Yellow I remembered that old argument from years ago and decided to do a little digging.
The Why
The concerns of those against Pokémon seemed to be founded on these principles:
- The Name: “Pokémon” translates as pocket monster, to some this means demon.
- Old Stories: Some believe Pokémon to have been taken from an old Asian belief that you could trap a demon in your pocket and carry it around.
- The Occult: It has been said that the move sets used in Pokémon such as: psychic abilities, negative energy, and hypnosis all promote witchcraft, sorcery, and eastern mysticism.
- Evolution: Many parents chose not to allow their children to play Pokémon because they believed the evolving forms of the characters taught children to believe in evolution.
- Paganism: The use of the earth, wind, water, and fire elements were thought to be too similar to the ones found in Pagan religions such as Wicca.
The Rebuttal
Despite all the upheaval and heated conversations on the topic from wary parents and some religious communities, the Pokémon creator Satashi Tajiri stated that the concept for the series actually came from his childhood hobby of bug collecting.
As a child, Tajiri would catch insects and pretend they were fighting each other much like boys do with action figures. This inspired what we know as Pokémon battles.
The Verdict
To me pretend bug fights seem to be a far cry from Satanism. I may be wrong, but I think Pokémon is just pure, clean fun.
