Let's hope it PETAs out soon
With Pokémon X & Y only a day away from its global release, animal rights organisation PETA has seized the opportunity to piggyback the games' current media attention and highlight its own cause by creating a spoof Pokémon game.
Entitled Pokémon Red, White and Blue, the parody Flash game is essentially designed to convey PETA's message that humans should go vegan. As you play through the game, the narrative attacks both the raison d'être of Pokémon (and their supposed slavery), and uses it as an analogy to emphasise how humans mistreat animals in real life. Furthermore, one part of the short game suggests that by playing and enjoying Pokémon, you are somehow indirectly supporting the abuse of animals.
This isn't the first time that PETA has used Nintendo's intellectual properties to try and make its point. Last year, it created another spoof Pokémon game, in which Pikachu and Co. fought back against their trainers as a result of all their supposed abuse. The organisation also received a rather strong backlash in 2011 for implying that Mario's Tanooki suit power-up encouraged the wearing of furs.
Nintendo has not yet made an official statement regarding this latest development. Do you think it's fair game for PETA to use Pokémon to project its message about animal cruelty? Is Pokémon inherently wrong for allowing players to battle creatures against one another? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.