PETA has bone to pick with Pokemon
(Nintendo)
PETA has a bone to pick with Pokemon, and it’s over how the popular Nintendo video game treats its big-eyed virtual characters.
The animal rights group, which normally focuses on the abuse of dogs, cats and other animals in the real world, has crossed over into the virtual world to launch a protest against Nintendo’s newest Pokemon game, “Black and White 2.”
PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, complains the characters in “Black and White 2,” all of whom are collectively called Pokemon, are abused by their “trainers.”
“The difference between real life and this fictional world full of organized animal fighting is that Pokémon games paint rosy pictures of things that are actually horrible,” PETA says on a website that promotes a parody video game, “Pokemon Black & Blue – Gotta Free ‘em All.”
PETA says Pokemon have suffered at the hands of their “cruel” trainers for generations. In its parody game, one of the Pokemon characters, Pikachu, battered with splotches of blood, bandaged and wearing a broken neck brace, rises up to confront one of the trainers, Cheren, who also appears blood-spattered and holding a bat, ready to beat down Pikachu’s defiance.
The player gets the option of allowing Pikachu to deliver a quick attack, a thunder shock, a group hug or protest. The player’s goal is to “exploit a trainer’s weakness and defeat all the trainers to free all Pokemon.”
According to CNET, Black and White 2 was released in July in Japan and is expected in North America, Europe, and Australia this month.
The Pokemon series – there are more than 600 fictional species – is second only to Nintendo’s Mario when it comes to global video game popularity.
CNET notes that this isn’t the first time PETA has launched attacks against virtual characters. It protested Nintendo’s “Super Mario 3D Land” game for dressing Mario in a fur suit and Zinga’s “Mafia Wars” game’s use of pit bulls as attack dogs.
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87 comments Add your comment
Kat1004
October 9th, 2012
6:40 pm
wow
battling with pokemon is how you raise your friendship levels with them
plus there monsters, not animals
I now have a stupid headcanon that N is PETA
N is PETA
PETA is N
It is him
i have no name
October 9th, 2012
7:02 pm
WTF IS WRONG WITH PETA?!?!?!?I KNOW ABOUT ANIMAL ABUSE BUT WAT THE FIRETRUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!?!?!??!?!
Psycho 815
October 9th, 2012
7:08 pm
Pokemon may seem unethical at a glance. However, in the pokemon TV show, most pokemon love their trainers and their trainers love them. Pokemon are “pocket monsters.” This makes way more different than animals. They think, they communicate with their trainers, and they all share with their trainers the intentions of enganging in battles with other pokemon for the purposes of fun, showing of abilities, and, of course, the pride of winning!
Silverangel
October 9th, 2012
7:56 pm
U kidding? Even if Pokemon are trapped within pokeballs, they can rebel and get out whenever they want to. For Pete’s sake, even a little Joltik, which is only four inches, can easily kill its trainer with a thunderbolt. Pokemon is there for the trainers to bond with them. If you want to care for them more then just play a nuzlocke “http://www.nuzlocke.com/challenge.php”
Apostle
October 9th, 2012
7:58 pm
The only thing interesting about PETA is when the PETA chicks get naked.
Nikki
October 9th, 2012
8:46 pm
Oh my god PETA. What. The. Heck. The theme of Pokèmon is to “Always do your best, and catch em’ all.” Not slaughter em’ all. You just wasted your freaking time, Pokemon has nothing, NOTHING to do with animal cruelty. Pokemon AREN’T EVEN FREAKING ANIMALS. That video game? Yeah, that was a parody. No animal cruelty there, they’re not even animals, THEY’RE NOT REAL, THEY DON’T EXIST.
Go put your money elsewhere Team Plasma– I mean PETA, stop wasting it going after video games.
Anon
October 9th, 2012
8:48 pm
N Harmonia? Is that you?
AnamayCat
October 9th, 2012
9:23 pm
Well, first of all…
That game PETA made to back up his protest… He’s saying that it’s promoting animal cruelty yet in that game it’s actually promoting kids to drinking because the first battle Cheren is holding a beer. And also, the game itself if promoting animal abuse because of the rude moves in the game that the people use.
PETA, this is pathetic.
Hailey
October 9th, 2012
9:57 pm
Dafuq did I just read…..
Josh
October 9th, 2012
11:54 pm
This is just sad. Really peta? Get it together people
Pokemon Master
October 9th, 2012
11:58 pm
i have been playing pokemon since 96 and i have had no urge to abuse an animal but after reading this im starting to feel a little violent. If there was anything i took away from the game it is that you must take care of your pokemon or you wont get very far. And if they were real id have a snorlax sit on PETA:)
Red pokemonfirered
October 10th, 2012
1:32 am
Omg peta is sooo stupid why r they trying to ruin pokemon it is a very entertaing series they should focus on the real world not video games
Baffled
October 10th, 2012
1:33 am
PETA needs to get real. It’s th opposite way in the game from they are saying, first of all. Second, ITS A GAME!!!! Third, I can honestly not believe that they spend their resources on absolute fricking crap like this and everything else they seem to do. I know animal cruelty is wrong… But why don’t you put your money to doing something beneficial, if you can understand the word. Somehow you got people to follow your crazy ideas, maybe you could get them to do something beneficial. But then again, somehow, in a sick and twisted way, you probably thought that this was beneficial. Whackos.
griffin012
October 10th, 2012
1:56 am
well in black and white 2 team plasma grunts beat there pokemon for 2 years to “train” them so PETA is saying that they support an organization that beat there pokemon into submission
Nana
October 10th, 2012
4:45 am
@creative
._….. have you actually PLAYED the game lolololol what the other person said, you just proved to us you’re a gullible person. The game promotes safety for the pokemon, the GAME practicly saysss, “all bad trainers (which hassss happened before in other tvshows/series/mangas) should eitherrrr 1.release their pokemon or 2. Be BETTER to it! There is no real abusssse in the game, its just the story line to catch the players mind and be into the game. Your agreement is invalid :/
Nana
October 10th, 2012
4:50 am
“If its on tv, they’ll follow it”
Noooo…… ._.
Pokemon does not in any way PROMOTE abuse
But that’s besides the point…
Are pokemon representations of animals? No, tho unovas generation look more like animals its because they’re running out of idea rofl but anyway yeah, its to represent (in the game) how the harmony should be between pkmn/trainer.
The storyline invloves you being the helper to stop bad trainers in a way to abuse pkmns gifts
Lawl this happens every pkmn series idont understand why they’re making a big fuss, there is no poachers in the game, no endangered pokemon, no real solid evidence to show that pokemon is promoting animal abuse as for all I’m saying they’re AGAINST it. The creator of pokemon loved animals and so do a lot of pokemon users
Nana
October 10th, 2012
4:51 am
Peta’s being an ignorant baby xD
Pokemon fan
October 10th, 2012
5:07 am
Isn’t the main theme of pokemon “To treat your pokemon as an equal?”
And ing “Mewtwo strikes back”, they CRY over Ash because he sacraficed himself to stop fighting. And Pikachu is extremely close to Ash. If they want to call them out over animal abuse, tell them to study they’re facts first. If they are doing this for publicity, tell them to actually do good instead of rant about one of the most popular games that have an EXTREMELY obvious theme about treating people and animals or pokemon as equals.
Nana
October 10th, 2012
6:58 am
Ikr??
@Pokemon fan
Now if peta saw the pikachus slapping eachother they would probably over exagerate saying, “omg that promotes illegal dog fighting” w/o even ackgnowledging the rest of the movie, I bet you that.
I totally agree with u
Paul
October 10th, 2012
8:43 am
Ha! PETA = Team Plasma! That was actually the story line of Pokémon Black and White. Trainers should free their pokémon!
Aaron G
October 10th, 2012
9:23 am
PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals. I’m gonna go eat a steak wrapped in bacon and play pokemon now.
Aaron G
October 10th, 2012
9:24 am
Enter your comments here
timmothy scraut
October 10th, 2012
9:35 am
PETA, your ignorant, and I disagree with you’re ideas.
boss man
October 10th, 2012
10:25 am
PETA SUCKS
Kyle
October 10th, 2012
12:03 pm
has anyone supported this article……?
pokemon.fudge.cakes
October 10th, 2012
12:23 pm
this is stupid PETA are mad at at a video game WTF!? KIDS LOVE AND THERE CRYING OVER BEING ABUSIVE SOMEONE TELL PITA TO EAT PIKACH D……………..
Matt
October 10th, 2012
1:17 pm
My god PETA. Go attack celebs with their “Boots wit da fur” leave a video game out of it. In RDR you hunt animals and skin them to sell their hides. In the RE series you kill mutated animals along with people. Hell you can go in Zoo Tycoon and not feed your animals. PETA…GET A LIFE!!!
thebulldozer
October 10th, 2012
4:41 pm
WTF PETA? if you want to reach people this is definitely not the way to do it. Way to be the laughing stock of the internet.
dfhhfj
October 10th, 2012
6:15 pm
REALLY? FOCUS ON THE ANIMAL ABUSE IDIOTS! Pokemon Is a game where the trainer TAKES CARE of the Pokemon! PETA! GET YOUR HEAR ON STRAIGHT!!
Teehee :)
October 10th, 2012
9:02 pm
Okay, I’m playing the game.. and I’m laughing so hard. Pathetic and does nothing. You’re a pokemon.. sending pokemon out to battle.. which just defeats the purpose of what PETA is trying to get at.
ReallY?
October 10th, 2012
11:02 pm
creative are you serious because they play Pokemon they are going to be animal abusers? I have been playing Pokemon for a good 14 years now. I am almost 22 I have never felt the desire to hurt my dog or my cat. oh and just so you know im a freaking vet student. Dang Pokemon really must have messed with my mind.
Alex
October 11th, 2012
4:26 pm
I can’t tell if their serious or not… But if they are, I hear Team Plasma is looking for new recruits.
Umbreon
October 13th, 2012
9:28 pm
Haha, seriously PETA? You’re going after a stupid piece of fiction? Pokemon aren’t even animals!
Besides, have any of you bimbos actually played the games or watched the show? No one’s actually hurt in the battles, and Pokemon bond with their trainers in the process. The laws physics don’t exactly apply all the way in the Pokemon world, you know, and injuries only happen if an actual assault happened (like, say, a rampaging wild Pokemon).
And of course, if you’ve seen Mewtwo Strikes Back, all the Pokemon wept for Ash when he sacrificed himself to save everyone.
Yeah, I didn’t think my respect for you could get any lower, but upon reading this it just did.
Umbreon
October 13th, 2012
9:29 pm
P.S. How about you animal rightards go save some REAL animals? YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THOSE OF US WHO ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE!
bam
October 13th, 2012
10:51 pm
oh so peta is going after games now?
GO TO DUCK HUNT NOT THE GAME I HAVE PLAYED FOR YEARS AS A CHILD
Erika
October 14th, 2012
1:19 pm
This is pathetic. PETA is enraged with mythical, fictional, magical animated creatures. PETA is ignorant to this subject. They know good well they used to play Pokemon all day, they just ran put of ideas. They need to worry about, thw Chinese people eating and cooking dogs.and cats. Its pitiful I used to have respect for PETA
smh+facepalm
October 16th, 2012
12:53 am
I swear these guys are getting close and closer to a cult everyday. Who here would bet that they’d kill a human before they’d kill an animal? This guy for starters.