If we strip away the family-friendly facade of Pokémon games, we get an environment where non-Trainers don't just lack a lot of movement opportunities, they are constantly afraid for their lives.
Preface
Pokémon is a multi-media franchise aimed primarily for children, originated from Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green pair of videogames developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for Game Boy in 1996. Due to having many games, spin-offs, media adaptations and merchandise, it is consistently ranked as the most profitable intellectual property of all time.
The videogames are generally set in locations loosely based on real world regions. All animals are replaced by cartoonish creatures with supernatural properties called the Pokémon, who possess varying amount of intelligence. Pokémon are commonly found in the wild in their appropriate habitats, but are importantly seen along with the humans as tamed pets. All Pokémon have a biological capability of being converted into pure digital data when touched by a throwable device called the Pokéball, which lets them be "captured", summoned, and traded through the Internet.
Pokémon often serve as assistants for tasks, perform in shows, or are seen as family members. The human population is generally considered to be vegetarian, though Pokémon being used as food is very rarely mentioned. The media repeatedly emphasizes the co-existence with Pokémon in the constructed culture. Despite their recurringly discussed dangerous powers, their on-screen use on humans at worst count as annoying pranks or slapstick.
Most importantly, Pokémon are inherently competitive, and Pokémon Battles where Pokémon Trainers take turns giving their Pokémon commands to attack each other are considered the core of the society. Despite the paranormal abilities, all Pokémon attacks at worst can knock the other unconscious, and there are many ways to bring a Pokémon to a full health instantly. Despite Pokémon not being free, it's occasionally mentioned that if they really wanted to, they can ignore orders or break out, and sport fights help their identity formation.
The plot of the games generally follow a teenager being given their first Pokémon by their parents or a local Professor, and then sent alone to visit various towns, getting acquainted with local fauna for the Pokédex journal, and undergo the Pokémon League's challenge: defeating eight certificated Trainers in a duel, then the Elite Four and the Pokémon Champion back-to-back. Along the way, the protagonist often gets dragged into foiling a conspiracy of a criminal organization trying to capture an ancient Pokémon for its power.
Games are often sold in pairs with slight differences, encouraging players to exchange Pokémon via a multiplayer mechanic for the complete experience. Throughout many years, the plot structure and base mechanics of the games underwent many experimental variations, while side-media show different aspects of the Pokémon World.
Most terrific Pokédex entries
While the franchise aims to be kid-friendly, it is conceptually themed around collecting Pokémon taxonomy and providing the sense of biological world-building. However, the descriptions of wild Pokémon often include details that are never brought up in gameplay and hang on a quite concerning line for their age rating.
Cannibalism
Parasect actually describes the pair of the crab and its mushroom parasite. The crab is already dead and is controlled to be moved onto trees where the mushroom can spread its toxic spores.
Mawile's signature external jaw is hard as steel, can crush bars and pulverize boulders. It baits pray with a cute act before chomping on it and ripping it apart.
Themed after an anteater, Heatmor heats up its tongue to drill into the steal body of a Durant and eats it from the inside out.
Sliggoo may look like a cute snail, but it can spit mucus that melts through anything, its horns work effectively as a radar, and it can't distinguish between a friend and food.
Palossand looks like a sand castle a kid would make, but is actually a living quicksand that waits for the victims to step on it and then only dried up bones remain.
Psychic damage
Hypno hypnotizes its victims into sleep so it can feed on their dreams.
Beheeyem can tamper with the victim's short-term memories. Pokémon Horizons anime actually showed a terrifying implication where a villain caused a girl to be completely paralyzed and at his mercy for at least a couple of minutes, with her not even recalling the encounter.
During a new moon, Darkrai can make an entire village see nightmares at night.
Pecharunt creates a mochi that completely hypnotizes anyone who unwittingly eats it. In the best case scenario it'd cause a large group of people to dance chaotically until they are completely exhausted.
Mimikyu is an enigmatic Pokémon disguising itself with a Pikachu ragdoll. Anyone who caught a glimpse of how it really looks like died at home from a heart attack, and it's vengeful against those who can't hold it properly or try to tell others it's not a real Pikachu.
Threats to children
Drifloon is a balloon Pokémon that is mentioned to be formed from human souls during humid seasons and spirits away children who try to pull its string. Sometimes it seeks and drags light children on its own directly into the afterlife, while acting friendly. If it pops for any reason, a soul-screeching scream can be heard. Drifblim often acts as a hot air balloon, but has some similar entries.
Gourgeist strolls during a new moon and curses everyone who can hear its song. Depending on its size, it can pass itself as a child or an adult and then choke a human to death, and is said to be enjoying the suffering.
Banette is said to be born from abandoned dolls and hatred, and is seeking revenge against its previous owner, potentially cursing them.
Gimmighoul is a chest Pokémon that hypnotizes people nearby into finding and donating coins to it. A story tells that it forced one girl to make finding 999 coins her only priority in life.
Soul-stealing
Haunter can phase through walls and attacks in the dark, especially those who are depressed, inflicting fear when it's nearby. Its licks strip away the lifespan and also cause constant shuddering and weakness that last until death.
Lampent hangs around hospitals and absorbs souls from the recent dead as fuel. Chandelure haunts mansions and lures in victims, after which it either burns their spirits or makes them wonder without a body forever.
Froslassis is based on the Yuki-onna myth and likes to turn men it finds handsome into ice statues to use them as decorations on a mountain, while consuming the victim's soul.
Other hazards
Gastly inhabits abandoned buildings and surrounds victims in poisonous gas that suffocates them without them noticing it.
Gengar hides in a person's shadow and steals their heat, while laughing at their paranoia. Those walking close to a streetlight or in the mountains may end up cursed with hypothermia.
Voltorb disguises itself as a lost Pokéball in factory areas and zaps or explodes on contact.
Alakazam is said to have 5000 IQ, has a perfect memory, is great at analysis, and can defend itself with psychokinesis.
Frillish is a cute-looking jellyfish, but it paralyzes unfortunate swimmers with its poisonous stingers and then drags them to the ocean floor.
Houndoom shoots pungent-smelling poisonous flames from its mouth that cause a neverending pain, and in one case is mentioned to turn the opponent into ash. Its howling reminds people of a grim reaper.
Inteleon can create water bullets that move at hypersonic speeds, stronger than even most sniper rifles. Even water at such speed would just spawn a hole through anything.
As a special mentions, Deoxys and the Ultra Beasts are quire literally aliens, with alien morphology and behavior. They are described as invasive species that are harmful to the world and aren't aware of it. For example, Nihilego can freely teleport and its drug-like toxins make humans protect it at all costs, and it can even fuse with them.
Legendaries
Crime groups want to capture ancient Pokémon and for quite a good reason, as their powers get more absurd as the series progresses. Mewtwo is an artificial creation that has immense psychic abilities and sapience of a human. Groudon can quite literally spawn volcanoes, while Kyogre can sink an entire island with storms, with humans incapable of stopping their feuds without Rayquaza. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina are effectively gods of time, space and antimatter respectively, and are on edge of breaking the rules of physics. Kyurem can freeze almost an entire continent, while Eternatus did fry an entire continent in the past with a thunder. Xerneas can grant immortality, while Yveltal absorbs all life force in a wide area when it becomes old. Necrozma made a parallel world completely devoid of light and ruined its advanced civilization. And then there's Arceus, who is considered to be the creator deity, can change own properties, and can send people across space and time.
Reevaluating the culture
Let's now ignore the family-friendly lens and exciting anime logic the games and the related media present the world as, and think about how it'd feel like realistically. Ironically, the games themselves provide such room for thought. Humans lives are quite fragile when the supernatural factors are involved.
The society transforms from a tourism paradise into a grim fear-bound web of separated towns that are governed by strict rituals and the need for survival. The Pokémon are no longer seen as companions, but as enigmatic Yokai-like beasts that without the leash would predate on the populace. Going outside of a town without an obedient and strong Pokémon is an almost guaranteed death sentence, with most studies for children being instead about detecting sings of Pokémon activity and coming up with the countermeasures.
Towns would be strongly reinforced and walled off, with regular curfews and roll calls. Repels get converted from a hand spray into an industrial aerosol deployed regularly over the streets and walls. Even inside the towns, life would be defined by paranoia and extreme social closeness. One can never leave a child out of sight. While in the games a tall grass tile is a minor inconvenience, an area with limited visibility such as dirt pit or an alleyway is a potential trap where a person inexplicably disappears. Search parties would be unnecessary as a missing person would only get a memorial and a name on a public board.
No child would be sent on any journey. Instead, a Trainer would be a specialized and heavily prepared mercenary who would work as a hunter or an escort. Trainers probably wouldn't even be above using firearms. Working as a Trainer is highly dangerous, but it would also pay quite well. The routes between cities would relatively be safe as Trainers are hired to patrol in between and guard transports. It'd feel like traversing a wolf-packed medieval forest. Just living on duty till 30s would likely make you a veteran with many physical and psychological scars. Ironically, the bond with tamed Pokémon would be as high as never before, with them being treated not only as specialized weapons, but as symbiotic and highly intelligent lifeguards.
Children will likely be protected even more and will be under strict oversight at all times. Pokédex entries would be regularly read like nursery rhymes. Co-existence with Pokémon would be taught not as being in harmony with the nature, but as a contract with the nature that is apathetic and unforgiving, and most wild Pokémon should be treated as malicious enemies. Many harmless Pokémon would still be pets, but they'd come with additional rules of how they are kept and would be euthanized at the first sight of disobedience.
A Pokémon would be captured and tamed not according by its cuteness or strength, but for it specific utility. An Arcanine is a glorified flamethrower, while a squad with Medicham, Gothitelle and Gardevoir would be regularly patrolling for incidents. Machamp are already often seen as construction workers, but they can be use as security guards as well. Electric Pokémon are already shown to power buildings in the anime, but with higher demands they may be locked up in large batteries for this purpose. Pokéballs themselves will likely be held in containment chambers and be handed out by authorization, instead of being left in a drawer near a bed, as there's technically nothing really preventing them from turning on their Trainer. When someone throws a Pokéball, it'd be either as an alternative method of distracting or neutralizing a Pokémon, or pleading to entrust it with lives of others.
The Routes may be difficult to traverse regardless of the escort. A Snorlax blocking the path would be the least of someone's worries, at any moment for any reason a bridge can be caught on fire, be frozen, be electrocuted, or host a swarm of meat-hungry insects. Weezing and Muk thrive in trash and could make the forest air poisonous to breathe. Going across a river for sightseeing can turn you into a fresh meat from any direction. The terrain now always having paved roads and requiring specialized Pokémon to get across would certainly make things even worse. While digital mail will be fine, delivering cargo would become a question of 'if' instead of 'when'.
Similarly to how it's done in Pokémon Black & White, Gym Leaders would be elected representatives of the League's authority, teaching about Pokémon to the public and investigating trouble. A Gym would be not just an attraction for challengers, but barracks that train new Trainers to battle. The often mocked environmental hazards in the Gyms would serve a practical purpose of shaping Trainers up for the harsh climates. Getting past a puzzle isn't just about intelligence, but about demonstrating mental resilience. As the best around who have made their way to the top, the Elite Four would be military commanders, with the Champion being the middle-man with the government and being reserved for stopping city-ending raids. The research of a Professor would be not just a regional quirk, but a valuable intel against the enemies.
Crime
Fortunately in the games, villains never do anything directly and act more like obstacles, always engaging in a fair duel and await arrest after losing. As much as they like to talk big about terrorism and threatening the player, the age rating ensures that losing to them would still leave you with an opportunity to retry. Realistically, criminals wouldn't entertain sportsmanship. A thief wouldn't be saying "drats, but my boss is a better Trainer than I am", they'd be just stabbing the child with a knife. This is best shown in the Pokémon Adventures mange, where villainous teams aren't simply scattered around for plot progression, but actively stalk and try to get rid of the heroes before they pose a risk.
Walking with a Pokémon is like walking with a gun. Even a small one can cause an unimaginable and uncountable damage in the wrong hands. A criminal who can bypass locked doors, make people disappear, or cause an entire building to explode remotely would be the worst menace. When the only answer to a hostile and obedient Pokémon is a stronger Pokémon, the society would hold itself at a nuclear staredown.
In the anime, Hunter J stands out by being a new character created for the show. Instead of being based on videogame criminals who try to reshape the world to their philosophical vision, J is a technologically-advanced poacher who works for the highest bidder. She petrifies Pokémon and humans to sell them off on a black market and has no greater ambitions. She's not above trying to murders kids and own henchmen for being an inconvenience, and becomes one of exceptionally rare fatalities in the show. While J exists to provide some dark moments in the show, pragmatically, such poachers could be commonplace. Catching a rare and powerful Pokémon is a tremendous task, so naturally people would put bounties for them, and the poachers may then consider keeping such living weapons for themselves.
The law enforcement would have to significantly step up their game. Troublemakers would face harsher prison penalties or get exiled into the wilds due to endangering the community. The main difference between Team Skull taking over the Po Town and Team Rocket taking over Goldenrod radio building is that Team Skull are more like delinquents and the town wasn't well populated to begin with. If someone tried to attack a poorly guarded city, no military help can arrive quick enough.
Hisui
The Pokémon Legends: Arceus game provides a rather unique perspective for world-building, moving the setting away from the modern times to the medieval version of Sinnoh. There are no towns or Pokémon-related infrastructure, instead people live in stone and wooden villages and try to colonize the region.
In the game, Pokéballs and the Pokédex are fairly recent inventions, with quite explicit implications. The population treats Pokémon as either dangerous animals or spirits that need to be worshiped, due to knowing very little about them. Since there are no Routes, outside of the settlements is one open hostile space. While the games still preserve their age ratings, by replacing the tile-grid maps and abstract turn-based combat screens with in-field fights, the Pokémon are shown to be very aggressive towards humans who step into their habitats.
Before Hisui became known as Sinnoh, there was no concept of a Pokémon Trainer. Instead, Wardens had to tame their partner Pokémon manually and use their help in protecting the ecosystem. While some Pokémon have strong bonds, what this partnership can do wasn't really known. The only ones who understand the importance of raising Pokémon and keeping multiple of them on person are the player, a time-displaced Ingo who is the strongest character in the game due to this in spite of his missing memories, and Volo who has been thinking far ahead of everyone for his own agenda.
The prequel demonstrates that the harmony between Pokémon and humans regularly mentioned in other games did not occur naturally, but was built up across centuries and emerged though the need of better understand who the landscape belongs to. The game also demonstrates that before the completion of the first Pokédex, humans saw Pokémon as incomprehensible monsters and they'd be at a complete mercy of any proto-Trainer who knows how to apply Pokémon for their own needs.
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