The world is united by love and respect for Pokémon.
And where are the militaries in Pokémon? Is the whole world really nationless? I know that wars were fought in the ancient and “medieval” times in the Pokémon world, but I don’t think I‘ve ever seen anything close to a soldier throughout the anime or games.
Sure, there are police forces fighting crime syndicates, but if they can get away with just having that, that seems to be the most of their troubles, especially if…
Everyone solves all of their conflicts with Pokémon battles.
Where are the guns in Pokémon? Not tranquillizers, net guns, or poaching equipment. People-killing guns. That one (banned) episode doesn’t count. And what about knives? Nothing?
I know what you’re going to say: “It’s a franchise for kids!” But superheroes in kids’ cartoons fight gun-wielding criminals all the time! It must be the focus of the Pokémon world on using Pokémon for everything that gets rid of the need for conventional weapons. And of course, this means that…
Children can take down actual criminals in “real” fights by using Pokémon.
Somehow, people just don’t seem to die—or even feel any kind of debilitating pain—from Pokémon attacks, so what are criminals trying to accomplish? Perhaps ironically, Team Rocket has physically withstood countless Thunderbolts (mostly from Pikachu), Flamethrowers, being frozen by Ice-type moves, pummeled and beaten by a variety of physical attacks, and much more. It’s a wonder they’re still alive after having blasted off so many times!
And Ash and his friends have survived just as much with mere scratches, bad hairdos, and being covered in ash (the regular kind, not the Trainer). So what all of this means is that “serious” violence between children and hardened criminals boils down to… a non-lethal Pokémon battle—every time. And with the ubiquity of Pokémon Centers, no one’s ever in any real danger, so it’s really just a contest to see who’s trained their Pokémon harder, and the loser gives up! (Usually…)
Human life must be way more precious to the denizens of the Pokémon world than this one if no one’s willing to kill each other! I guess it’s no surprise then that…
Ten-year-old children can journey into the world alone for years.
So everyone’s safe from violence at the hands of another person. Remember: if parents are really sending their kids on Pokémon journeys at age ten, there must not be any kidnappers or pedophiles either! No rapists or murderers! Nothing! Kids can just send out a Pokémon to defend themselves (apparently)! Or maybe the parents of that world just don’t care about their offspring?
And let’s not forget about the logistics of travelling. Have Ash and friends ever paid for a stay at a hotel? Is staying at Pokémon Centers free? How long can they do that?
Besides that, just about all of everywhere is available (and safe!) for camping. In between towns? No problem; just take out your sleeping bag in a place and get some Zs. No need to worry (as Dawn says!) about mosquitos or ticks or anything like that; they don’t exist! (Or do they?)
But you’ll rarely need to do that anyway because…
You can walk just about everywhere—or easily use other forms of transportation.
Have you ever paid for a ticket to travel on a train or ferry in the Pokémon universe? You always just seem to get them from other people. And what’s more is that they’re good forever! Way better than paying for a monthly bus pass or reloading a subway card!
It’s fun to travel with friends!
This one kind of depends on if you’ve had good experiences living with roommates. Whether you were friends before or became close as you lived together, it can be a truly fulfilling thing to encourage someone to do their best, and in turn be encouraged by them.
No one knows this better than Ash and his friends. They’re almost literally always cheering on the sidelines for each other, no matter who’s on the battlefield or stage.
The characters’ game counterparts, while often going on separate journeys, always meet up regularly throughout them to support each other and congratulate achievements. Personally, I’ve always wanted to travel with them too—if only at some point during the games. At least you get to battle with and alongside them sometimes.
You don’t have to go to school! (Or even get a job?!)
Ash and friends have visited more than a few Pokémon schools in the anime, and many players have probably visited the ones that are always in the games. After 20 seasons and nearly 10 years, Ash formally joined a Pokémon school in Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon.
How are people any bit smart in the Pokémon world if they go on Pokémon journeys learning nothing about math, history, or science? Sure, you could technically learn biology and environmental science if you work as a researcher for a Pokémon professor, but people must not be well rounded in that world! How do they staff engineering and manufacturing companies? They have all the technologies and facilities of our world, but better!
Maybe you can go to school whenever you want? Maybe Pokémon battling really does pay the bills…? Pretty sure it’s never explained—speaking of which…
Everyone lives comfortably!
Can you remember any poor people from the games? I count only Emma from Gen VI. There’s gotta be at least a few in the anime, right? Does Ash just visit the wealthy sections of every town? How does that compare to the cities in the games? Everyone seems completely fine with their economic situation!
Sure, not everyone’s rich, but it seems like everyone has their needs met very adequately. How do they do that if they’re too busy going on Pokémon journeys to get a job? Parents must be rich to fund their kids’ seemingly endless travels!
And why are Pokémon Centers completely free? Maybe it’s not exactly the same in the anime, but you walk in and wait literally two seconds for every injury on six of your Pokémon to be healed completely. Sounds like free Pokémon healthcare! Who’s funding that?! (And is there anything like that for people?)
You get all the cool gadgets of the Pokémon world!
Maybe it’s because I’m not into smartphones and tablets as much as everyone else (or because I’m way more into Pokémon than them), but I’ve always wanted a Pokétch (from the Gen IV games) and the other Gens’ counterparts, several Pokédexes, a Mega Ring, and now a Z-Ring! And think about a real life Holo Caster (from Gen VI)!
And the rest of the technology is amazing too!
Has the technology of the Poké Ball ever been fully explained? It converts any amount of biological matter into pure energy and can store it in a contraption the size of a golf ball! (What does it do to tell Pokémon apart from humans and plants?) Think about how far off the real world is from that! Forget about putting a leash on your dog; just store it in a hollow electronic billiards ball.
Now imagine putting that same dog in a network of computers that somehow manage to keep it alive despite never feeding it. Neopets has nothing on Pokémon! (Although I love Neopets too—just saying.) The real world can’t even approach the ethics of something like that!
As Clemont says, the future is now thanks to science! (In their world, anyway…)
Even though our world pales in comparison to the Pokémon one, at least we can pretend and vicariously experience it through the thankfully enormous multimedia franchise. I still want to leave though…!
You may also be interested in:
Still Searching For an NES Classic? You Might Be Able to Find One at Amazon’s Physical Stores
