The Laissez-Faire Approach to Pokémon

Those who are used (accustomed) to putting Pokémon into battle and little else - as they are wont to do since the very first games - might not care too deeply about the finer aspects of their lives. But those who watch the anime or play the other games where battling is not quite or as prominent and there is an emphasis on their lives will likely become appreciative of those finer aspects, specifically their sentience, and take them into consideration. As part of that consideration, they may allow Pokémon to lead their own lives in a "laissez-faire" manner or approach. That seems to be something that needs to be explored.

Before going any further, it would help to explain about the term. This term, which in French literally means "let do", most often applies to economics, where it describes a system in which there is little to no involvement, influence, or intervention, usually by the government. In such a system, the workings of the market are quite free. Beyond economics, the term can also apply as a political ideology, leadership style, and yes, as a philosophy, for which the last can apply to Pokémon. For that, it has the implication that beyond what is necessary (such as capturing and befriending them, and putting them into battle), there ought to be as little involvement, influence, or intervention as possible in the lives of Pokémon.

I actually got the inspiration for this post after a comic someone created about Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon Go. In it, Professor Willow scolds a Trainer for not purifying Shadow Pokémon and instead using them in battle, with the basis of the claim that they should be purified being that they are in pain. It may be that the Trainer regards the Pokémon as not actually resenting (in other words, as "consenting") their Shadow state, and therefore the Trainer is being "laissez-faire" about them. Some of my raid fellows seem to echo the same statement about their Shadow Pokémon, one even going so far to say that they are happy being Shadow Pokémon. Things may very well check out for them.

Harking back to the Pokémon anime, there is already a character for which the philosophy is quite evident, and that would be Ash. Many of the developmental paths that he took were based on the will of his Pokémon. The case of Pikachu rejecting and Bulbasaur resisting evolution is their will, and Ash did nothing more to influence their development otherwise. The same was true for some of the times he released their Pokémon, for which the most notable occasion was for Butterfree in order for it to be together with the mate that it had just met, and is clearly a case of non-intervention. The philosophy still seems to work and be quite noble despite the mixed bag of results over the progression of the anime.

Once people get past the notion that Pokémon are creatures of battles and for battling, it becomes easy to see that they have lives, just like the real-world creatures that many of them in fact do resemble. With the realization that they likewise possess lives, one may be willing to respect those lives without meddling in them too much - thus, a "laissez-faire" approach for them. For Trainers who deal with Shadow Pokémon and Ash of anime fame, the approach seems to apply and fit well to certain extents. For everyone else, the approach may be one of veritable consideration.

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