Legends: Arceus Proves Future Pokémon Trainers Have Terrible Parents

screenrant.com:

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus the residents of Jubilife village have a healthy measure of fear and respect for the mythical beasts that share the world with humanity, and the practice of sending youth out to capture and battle Pokémon would seem absurd, proving that future monster-collecting Pokémon trainers have terrible parents. Although more attention has been focused on the open world areas of Legends: Arceus and its updated capture mechanics, the story is even more of a departure from typical Pokémon fare. Almost every mainline game begins with a young person leaving their hometown with their mother’s blessing to catalog their region’s Pokémon and engage in battles. These games, which take place later in the timeline, depict a world where humans and Pokémon coexist in cooperation, and one where much of the culture and economy revolves around the titular Pocket Monsters. While overcoming fear and growing to understand Pokémon makes sense, none of this justifies the criminally negligent parenting exhibited in other Pokémon titles.

Some fans question why Pokémon protagonists are always children. The design choice obviously has more to do with the target audience of Pokémon games, ensuring an “all ages” design paradigm that avoids mature subject matter. Because every prior Pokémon game takes place in an era where the journey to become a Pokémon master is evidently an accepted coming-of-age practice, it may have stood out as ridiculous to players, but it was never criticized by in-game logic. Rather than befriending a stray puppy and asking, “Can I keep it?” the heroes of Pokemon ally with a mythical beast and then leave home to capture and train as many of them as possible. The worlds of Pokémon games typically featured a