Tuesday, June 2, 2015

In the past few weeks, I have spent significant time playing Pokemon Black, and the story-line really tied together with some of the things that we've been discussing throughout this class. In Pokemon black the main antagonist group is Team Plasma, who believe that Pokemon are being enslaved by their trainers and should be liberated. Throughout the game, Team Plasma takes away trainer's Pokemon, leaving them devastated without their companions. Later in the game, after defeating the leader of Team Plasma, he talks about how he does not truly believe that trainers and their Pokemon should be separated. He, and other members of Team Plasma, admit how they realize that not only do these trainers love their Pokemon, but the Pokemon love their trainers. I believe this really ties in well with how we feel about our animals/pets. There's always the question as to whether or not humans are going to be able to treat their pets better or if pets will be freed in the future. I believe, though this is not the case for everyone, that humans will be able to treat their pets better because we have such a deep love for our animals and feel the love that our animals give back to us.

4 comments:

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  2. I will always admire Pokemon Black and White for having the most unique story arch in the franchise in terms of the antagonist group's philosophy. I find it incredibly refreshing for a franchise that's been so used to having Team's bent on world-domination come around with a surprisingly rational way of thinking. However, this was actually not the first instance that the franchise had featured a character that was for the emancipation of Pokemon from their trainers.

    After being created in Giovanni's labs, Mewtwo faced an identity crisis. Is he a Pokemon or just a mere test subject for humans to create the most powerful Pokemon? After experiencing major trauma from Giovanni’s commands, he realized he wasn't being equally treated by Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket -- he was meant to obey them. Mewtwo escaped, blew up their laboratory, and decided to start cloning his own Pokemon so they can destroy mankind.

    Like Team Plasma, Mewtwo ultimately changed his mind and realized that yes, Pokemon can have healthy, symbiotic relationships with their trainers. I think it’s cool, that the franchise retold the same themes in these newer Pokemon games.

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  3. I found this post very interesting. The parallels drawn between animals and pokemon seem to adopt a pro servitude perhaps pro-domestication view point. I would have to disagree with this point of view. There are two factors that lead me to this decision. The first is the existence and use of pokeballs. The majority of the pokemon acquired in the game are caught in the wild. This means a wild animal, that has always lived in the wild, are brought into human society permanently. These are not domesticated pets. Dogs and cats have been with humans for thousands of years. Pokemon are only introduced to humans on an individual basis. My second point has to do with pokemon that have the ability to talk. The majority of pokemon are not capable of speaking the human language, but their is a minority that can. Since pokeballs do not consider the consent of the captured, it would be possible for a speaking pokemon to be caught. If this pokemon protested to its capture, most individuals would probably say keeping it would be unethical. In that case the only ethical thing to be done would be to free the pokemon. In light of this example how can one justifiably keep a pokemon incapable of speech. It would be impossible to understand the pokemons wishes and therefore immoral to keep it as a pet.

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  4. Tyler, I have to disagree with you. Throughout the Pokemon games, it is possible to evaluate how your Pokemon feel towards you. As long as you take care of your Pokemon/don't let them faint too often then it is evaluated that your Pokemon truly love you and have a strong bond with you. Yes, it may be true that at first, these Pokemon may not want to be captured, but once they do, they form a strong connection and love for their trainers. This is pretty related to stray animals. For example, if you were to find a stray dog on the street, they aren't going to be too friendly to you at first. But let's say you take them home, clean them up, groom them, get them their shots, feed them, and love them, then it is very likely that they'll like you back. The same thing goes for the Pokemon. At first, they may not be too friendly, but just like rescuing a wild stray, they'll come to love you with extended amounts of care and attention.

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