>>45090787In ancient times, when we humans were still a tribal and nomadic species, behaving no differently than the average pokemon, marriage between humans and non-humans was rather common and accepted. just south of my hometown, a cave with murals and graves dedicated to humans and their non-human partners, the different drawing styles of the murals and ways of burial suggest they were either used by one tribe for generations or many traveling tribes.
Human and non-human marriage was still common when humans started settling in permanent locations, building towns and farms instead of hunting and camping. This lead to the selective breeding of some non-human creatures, like the Miltank’s parent species, to be more beneficial to human society. This made some humans believe they were superior beings and of higher intelligence than non-humans, and those who weren’t murdered for loving a “lesser” creature were scared off into solitary lives, though this is true for only a few regions. The success of human civilization eventually birthed the first kingdoms on Earth, which finally hammered the misconception that humans are superior by inventing pocket balls, better known as Pokeballs, in a certain city-state south of Kalos. Due to this invention, the king and his army were essentially able to enslave non-humans and use them as tools of war against other kingdoms, thus creating the first empire in history, one that effectively engulfed two entire continents as territories.
That empire’s culture and ideology lives on to this day, and as a recreational sport, nonetheless. It’s why we humans still see Pokémon as monsters, to be contained into pocket-sized balls and fight for our amusement and financial gain. I am afraid this view will not erode any time soon.
