>>51413048This is an attitude that is the foundation of the series. And to be fair imagery like the OP is common in monster raising series, monster rancher has farms, Digimon also has them. But what sets Pokémon apart is the distancing from the concept of a monster, Pokémon is unique that instead of trying to portrayed otherworldly or unnatural beings it instead tries to contextualize the creatures as natural creatures rather than unnatural creatures. This is, for example, why the product guide, and Mr. Shudo, tell us that Pokémon *replace* real animals instead of making Pokémon be a distinct concept. In Digimon the creatures are digital and live in the digital world for the most part except in survive they're spirits called kemonogami, or beast gods, that are shaped by the human concicouness rather than being computer data shaped by the Internet. Monster Rancher has it's creatures spawn out of CDs and have short lifespans. In most RPGs there's a distinction between animals and monsters. But in Pokémon the Pokémon become the wildlife, they become fantastical critters rather than 'monsters', otherworldly or distinct from natural creatures. And we see this distancing start to pick up, in international markets Pokémon was never referred to as Pocket Monsters, and there's a much earlier product guide stating that Pokémon should never be referred to as monsters.
In Japan the term 'pocket monster' is mostly limited to marketing of the mainland games' titles and the name of the anime. The term monster ball and pokeball are both used in Japan but it is to my understanding that the term 'monster' is never used to refer to Pokémon anymore in-universe. In Legends of Arceus the Pokémon are referred to as "wild creatures ", "creatures" and even "beasts" but not monsters instead it's the MC who is called a monster once in dialouge.
