>>29667006I've had this theory that in the Pokemon universe, humans are technically classified Psychic/Fighting typed Pokemon. While some humans display psychic abilities (Sabrina) or physical prowess (Bruno) that wouldn't be possible in the real world, an innate ability that all humans possess is the ability to bend any other Pokemon to their will.
This effect is cumulative, and increases in proximity to human settlements. That's why wild Pokemon will still initially attack when humans enter their territory, and why the strongest, least docile Pokemon tend to abound in isolated areas. This power also isn't absolute. An abused Pokemon will usually not have the will to strike back, but will flee if their preservation instincts kick in.
The specific typing of humans is important too: As part Fighting, humans feel an innate urge to become more capable fighters, and do so via Pokemon battles. That's why gym leaders, the Elite Four, champions, and other powerful trainers are looked up to by the humans of the Pokemon world, rather than as glorified cockfighers. The Fighting type also explains why Dark-type Pokemon can more successfully resist the dominating ability of humans (in the form of lower base friendship in the games) but aren't completely immune to it.
The extraordinary empathy that the Psychic typing bestows to humans, along with the sense of sportsmanship that most Fighting-types display, means that fights rarely, if ever, result in the deaths of the participating Pokemon. It also means that outside of fighting, humans tend to take very good care of their Pokemon. Those that intentionally abuse their Pokemon are generally shunned and are thought to have abnormal personalities.
I think this is why humans in the games make such a huge deal about the relationships between Pokemon and people: Along with tool-building and critical thinking, it's the sole reason why otherwise relatively-weak humans dominate the Pokemon world.
Sorry if this is super-autistic.
