>>55839912>Are Pokemon enslaved or not?As of modern Pokemon, no. In fact, it's outright part of God's grand design that Pokemon are meant to be subservient-yet-equal companions to humans, but it's a factor that humanity needs to discover and embrace first, as seen in Legends: Arceus where the people of Hisui revered and feared Pokemon as almighty creatures rather than treating them as equal companions, and it wouldn't be until the protagonist became Arceus' Chosen that Hisui would come to see Pokemon in the intended way, paving the foundations for modern Sinnoh.
>badge checksThe Badge Check only really applies to traded Pokemon for gameplay purposes, as to prevent Little Timmy from trading over a level 100 legendary to steamroll the game for him without at least a little bit of resistance from the game's mechanics. Lore-wise it's because a Pokemon that you didn't capture or receive from an NPC with the intent of permanently keeping them may not feel like you're a suitable trainer to command them, hence their undesirable behavior in battle.
>master ballIt can capture without fail, yes, but a Pokemon is still able to release itself and remove its link to the Master Ball as it sees fit. This doesn't happen to the player at any point because it would be fucking retarded from a gameplay perspective.
