>>57603350Pokemon are slaves. It doesn't really matter what you say.
You capture them by beating them and paralyzing/sleeping them makes them easier to catch.
You command them against their will as to what things they're even allowed to remember.
They can disobey you, but the player deals with it by just letting it happen because they're a "good" slave owner, while someone like Team Rocket would just use whips. Note that many trainers in gen 1 use whips as well before they probably changed it for family friendly reasons. The intent is still there.
The only game in the franchise that tries to say Pokemon aren't slaves, and they actually enjoy their labor (this was very common propaganda during slavery btw) also directly contradicts itself, Gen 5 and Hugh's sister's Liepard being forced against it's will to work for the bad guys.
Several dex entries mention how some Pokemon don't even like fighting or care more about healing others instead of causing pain, and even Mega Evolution, which supposedly is the "greatest bond" a trainer can have, shows that Pokemon undergo extreme amounts of pain and feral bloodlust for the sake of a cheap and temporary power boost.
Maybe sapient Pokemon like Alakazam or movie Lucario or some legendaries aren't slaves, but the vast majority are.
You're just not really supposed to think about it because it's a very heavy, real issue in a game intended for toddlers and their attempt at "addressing" it not only looked awful but raised further questions.
