Pokemon’s Pro-Gun Viewpoint

Gun nuts, behold your god.

Pokemon — those creatures that wow with their amazing powers and easy collectibility — show no signs of stopping. As long as the little critters pull in cash for Nintendo, there will always be more, and it will be impossible to catch them all. In a game industry awash in graphic violence and lurid sex, Pokemon is a reminder of more innocent days, and it shows that clean approaches work well even today.

Which is good, because Pokemon presents a pro-gun viewpoint.

“But Rawle,” I hear you saying, “Pokemon trainers don’t use any kind of weapon, much less a gun!” While it is true that Pokemon trainers don’t use guns, they do use far more effective weapons: the Pokemon themselves. In real life, guns are the best weapons humanity has. In the Pokemon world, however, Pokemon are far more effective; guns would still give an advantage, but many Pokemon negate that advantage, making guns less useful overall. People will use the best weapons available to them, and in the world of Pokemon, a Steelix is a lot more useful than a Colt.

Second, people are taught from a young age how to handle Pokemon as weapons. Pokemon trainers are licensed at ten years old, then sent out into the world by their parents with an immature “starter” Pokemon. This adventure not only improves the child’s Pokemon handling skills, it also teaches them self-reliance, emotional maturity, and courage under fire — assets in any society.

Finally, everyone in the Pokemon world — schoolchildren, gardeners, police officers, you name it — uses Pokemon. While most people aren’t dedicated trainers seeking to become stronger, they keep Pokemon with them for self-defense, much like real-life people would keep guns. Since the bad guys use Pokemon as well, it only makes sense that ordinary people would keep their own Pokemon just in case.

So as you can see, Pokemon makes the case for gun ownership, albeit indirectly. It depicts a fully armed society as peaceful and prosperous, and it shows ordinary people using their most effective weapons to defend what’s theirs. The National Rifle Association could not have done a better job.