>>55972439Privacy concerns? Absolutely.
Movements? Absolutely not.
The Pokemon League and its global sponsors are a cultural monolith. Any Region with an established League presence inevitably shifts its entire culture to revolve around the League. Like Christian missionaries of old, League representatives probe a region to get a feel for its culture, and then work to reconcile the local flavor with its own ideals. We see this in Unova, where the legend of the Hero-King is assimilated into their Champion contest; and we see the beginnings of this in Alola as Kukui, sellout and actual fucking traitor to his people, uses the Totem Trials as a springboard for the League instead of the coming-of-age ceremony it used to represent. (We also see the opposite in Orre and Hisui, where without the League there to dictate the cultural values, people will ask the world from you but you can just get fucked if you need anything in return.)
For 99% of people, the Pokemon League represents affordable living (with the Pokeball Index standing in for our farcical Big Mac Index IRL), safety (the Champions are essentially Texas Rangers with Dragons), global communication (needs no introduction), and a culture that encourages communities to support their youth (countless ex-Trainers and enthusiasts will hand out invaluable treasures to the first kid they meet that has the glimmer of a Champion in their eyes) and pool their resources together for a united purpose (see above). The League means a household can afford to send their children on fantastic journeys on a one-source income. It means selfish people are forced to do their dirty work in the dark instead of being as boldfaced and brazen as they are IRL. If that also means my GPS signal pings anytime I get a text alert or visit a Pokemon Center, most people will shrug and say "so be it."
The one exception being the Uncle Ted Kaczynski cameo in Shadows of Almia. But he's definitely the exception that proves the rule.
