Pokémon and Plant Eaters

A couple of years ago, I made a post on the food chain axioms that have been indicated to very well exist in the Pokémon world. A key assumption of those axioms is that the creatures involved are carnivores, as creatures that eat flesh or meat. However, it is known in real life that some animals, including people, do not (or in the latter case, prefer not to) eat meat, making them herbivores or, as people, vegetarians or vegans. Since Pokémon is an abstraction of the real world, the same could be conceived to apply. It's a point of contention that perhaps deserves some discussion as well.

For the creatures of Pokémon, the plant eaters among them may be as expected. The cattle lookalikes of Miltank, Tauros, and Bouffalant are conceivably ruminants as well, doing what they do best, which is to eat grasses and other plant matter. Some Bug-type and Flying-type Pokémon may accordingly be herbivores as well, being well suited or only suited for that. The latter may also be true of other Pokémon that can't eat much more than the plant matter they can eat locally. More than a few Pokémon may indeed have their own preferences for eating plant matter, whether by necessity or adaptation.

As for the people, the prior food chain axiom holds. This is the case even if this isn't made evident anywhere in any portrayal of Pokémon. Even with that, like real people who have gained respect for animals or otherwise have grown fond of them to the point of limiting their exploitation, some people in the world of Pokémon will likely perceive the creatures the same way. That would then lead them to avoid realizing the food chain and to opt to eat more plant foods, as real vegetarians or vegans. It would indeed be a revelation if any Pokémon character were to explicitly declare themselves as being just that.

That revelation may also very well be, in some ways, an inspiration for real people to take up vegetarianism or veganism. The virtue of hardly seeing Pokémon being exploited for food may just lead some people to make do eating plant foods exclusively or near-exclusively. I'm not strictly either - I'm more of what would be called a "flexitarian", an adaptable vegetarian - but I suppose that rarely seeing Pokémon as food matter may have helped to influence my food decisions. The inspiration may also help to develop subtle vegetarian or vegan mannerisms instead of the common "vigilante" approach today by some of those people.

Whether real or imaginary, not every creature has the capacity, tenacity, or preference to eat meat. Even some people are this way, though most likely they are of the latter two camps. In Pokémon, it may be safely considered that this holds true even with the food chain axioms in play. It may even be welcomed by both real and imaginary people, leading to a principled way of living for them all. I'd have to say that it becomes a neat dynamic for the creatures of Pokémon just as much as it may constitute a nobly pure principle for any person, especially if the latter is conceived by way of Pokémon.

One year ago: The Price of Cosplay Costumes

Two years ago: Do Unusual Things

Three years ago: Futureproofing Transfers