The Dual Influence of Humans and Pokemon

INTRODUCTION

Throughout all of human history, Pokemon have been an integral part of how we interact with the world around us and have effectively shaped the world we have created much more so than one would ordinarily think.  From companions as trainers to partners in major businesses across the world, Pokemon are slowly but surely pervading through human culture and are rising to the top faster than we could have ever hoped.  This, however, is not a clean picture, as some negative interactions still occur today and threaten to tear apart the otherwise utopian lifestyle we are so close to creating with Pokemon.  Here, a brief synopsis of the interactions that have taken place between humans and Pokemon over the years will be given as well as the possible future that the human race may have to come to terms with as a result of these interactions.


BUSINESS

HUMANS

Since the dawn of human society, Pokemon have been an integral part of daily business and are often employed just as much as human are in all kinds of professions.  While most will instantly think of manufacturing jobs in places where humans lives would otherwise be endangered, this is not always the case; in fact, many species of intelligent Psychic-types and other similar creatures are often used in place of secretaries for the sake of cost efficiency, as Pokemon rarely ever ask for anything like a paycheck and are usually more than willing to help out provided they are treated well for their efforts.  The way that humans interact with Pokemon can therefore be broken into two major categories, hands-on and clerical.  The hands-on Pokemon are those that most associated with manufacturing jobs and have been working with humans for centuries; in fact, the real line of work that made these creatures famous back in the day was metalworking, as many Fire-types are able to produce and resistant extreme temperatures far beyond what humans are capable of, making it much easier for them to make weapons like swords without putting themselves in danger.  From this position, Pokemon have slowly crept into the modern world and got their first taste of human nature in a general sense during the industrial revolution.  This is not one of the proudest times of human behavior, as many Pokemon that were working in large-scale factories were not better off than the poor who worked in the factories and risked life and limb every day on the job; the fact that they were physically treated worse only makes the issue that much more unfortunate.  Today, however, most Pokemon are not used much at all in manufacturing, as machines have thankfully taken the place of both Pokemon and humans in the modern day.  As such, many more species are instead used today for clerical jobs, which effectively breaks down to any and all jobs that require interaction with humans on a non-physical basis, such as serving as a secretary or working in the mail-room at a local business.  These creatures actually have more rights than most humans in their jobs as a result of protection laws passed to prevent corruption in the workplace during the end of the industrial revolution, so they are sometimes easier to spot than the actual employees in a business and almost never complain for any reason at all; if anything else, many Pokemon seem to enjoy the learning experience, as it allows them to communicate with humans as if they were equals, something that their ancestors would have rarely experienced for sure.  Unfortunately, many species are still used for certain businesses, such as drug trafficking, that are beyond illegal and often dangerous for the Pokemon involved, so the process is still a bit less than perfect.

POKEMON

Although they may be nothing more than animals to some, over the course of history in business, Pokemon have managed to teach humans a great deal about how to interact with other life-forms in the business realm and have actually assisted a great deal in understanding human rights in the workplace.  During the industrial revolution, humans were often mistreated in the workplace and were given little respect regardless of any rights they may or may not have had; the same went for Pokemon, but oddly enough, this seemed to speak volumes to some people.  Many humans at the time believed that all that mattered in life was who you were and what you did for a living, so most human workers in large-scale factories were treated like filth regardless.  Pokemon, however, because they were seen as beasts above anything else, were actually pitied because of the intense labor and grueling physical work they had to do; choosing not to obey orders could easily result in death, something that apparently struck a chord with humans in those times.  As such, it can essentially be said that it was the pity for Pokemon and not the plight of men that truly started the beginning of workplace safety and helped revolutionize the way that things were done on the factory floor.  Aside from human rights, Pokemon themselves have occasionally been the teachers for human business and have allowed humans to discover and utilize otherwise unnatural things, such as concrete in the case of Conkeldurr, that are now almost impossible to not see in the world around us.  As far as clerical work goes, Pokemon have served as an inspiration of sorts for other people in the workplace and are often stated to be the key that holds many businesses together.  As it turns out, many species of Pokemon have an innate tenacity to survive, something that modern humans sadly lack in many cases, that allows them to see things from a neutral perspective and help them create solutions to problems like bankruptcy or foreclosure that have saved more than a few businesses for decimation.  Needless to say, this shows that the simple lessons many people teach Pokemon in order to make them useful in the workplace do not fall on death ears; instead, they learn to use what they are taught on a daily basis, in turn making them the best employees that a company can invest in on a regular basis.

FUTURE

The current trend of Pokemon replacing humans in the workplace is likely to continue on for some time and may eventually reach the point where Pokemon themselves start to use the knowledge they have obtained in their craft to start their own business; this is something that most conservatives will laugh at, but if current trends continue, it may only be the inevitable future.  Because Pokemon do not have a monetary system to work with aside from our own, this may in fact leas them to develop such a system, in turning allowing a sort of humanlike society to flourish.  In time, it may come to the point where Pokemon become capable or running major businesses without human interaction and could potentially improve on our current systems, making better businesses and better goods than humans could have ever produced.  If this becomes the case, then it comes as no surprise that Pokemon will eventually create a separate economy that may or may not be dependent on human interaction to work.  This could easily plant the seed for an entirely new society in the future, one ran by Pokemon and not humans, that can either lead us to fight against Pokemon for control of the planet again or, in the optimistic viewpoint, allow humans and Pokemon to create a true utopian society unlike anything we could have ever crafted ourselves.


ENVIRONMENTAL

HUMANS

Although humans in recent years have done much to protect the environment, its complete track record is much worse for the wear and shows just how desperate and destructive we can be sometimes.  Human society's move into a sedentary lifestyle thousands of years ago was not a peaceful one, as simple growing tactics such as slash-and-burn did not provide much in the way of habitats for Pokemon and in fact had little positive impact as a result of the natural inadequacies of the practice.  In war time, forests and other important places were often destroyed or otherwise filled with so many people that the Pokemon living there often times ended up getting hurt or killed in the crossfire.  The list is of issues goes on and on, but in short, humans in the past showed very little respect for the natural world and only treated it as a place to conquer and rule over.  Modern day humans are much more sensitive to the preservation of the environment and wildlife in general, a fact more than demonstrated by the numerous protected park lands across the planet and the endangered species list; while these modern efforts have likely done much good in preserving Pokemon as a whole, we have yet to fully make up for our mistakes in the past.  The actual limits that people are willing to go to for the sake of the environment tend to vary quite dramatically, however, despite the major leaps and bounds we have made from out past.  The most extreme environmentalists tend to be the ones that people here about on a regular basis, as they will risk life and limb just to save a single species from extinction if it can be helped; while this seems fine in practice, the fact that it has led certain extremists groups such as Teams Aqua and Magma to try and bring forth the sources of nature itself without understanding its power is more than a slight dent in their otherwise perfect faces.  On the other hand, there are still those who care little for the environment and will only do what they have to keep the government off their back so they can make a profit.  In the past, these people have been the source for complete families of Pokemon born from our own selfish ways, namely the members of the Grimer (created from toxic sludge) and Trubbish (created from toxic garbage) families.  Worse yet, there are some extremists that look upon these creatures as if they were monsters that need to be destroyed; considering that they are Pokemon in their own right, this makes the issue a moot point in practice.  The fact that there are people like the Pokemon Rangers out there helping to protect Pokemon from the destructive ways of humans helps leave a nice icing on the cake of the human race's track record with the environment, but the fact that inside of the cake is mostly rotten still leaves a lot left to undo.  Even so, it seems likely that Pokemon have managed to help us in our efforts, as the vague utopia we have managed to weave into most of the world has helped us to understand not just the value of Pokemon but the value of all life in general.

POKEMON

The disadvantage that humans have in regards to Pokemon communication is that we usually cannot understand the language a particular species speaks; as such, body language has been a key way of determining what a particular Pokemon is actually saying or at least trying to say.  Humans have learned to use this to their advantage in regards to environmental protection, as Pokemon are generally not that afraid of humans when angered and will gladly express how they feel about certain activity with their bodies and not their mouths.  Humans in general seem to have learned about true environmental safety in the same fashion they learned workplace safety through Pokemon: through pity and pity alone.  The vast destruction that humans have caused is more than present in the face of those affected the most, as Pokemon are able to show and communicate emotion much better than normal animals, thus making them perfect indicators for the impact humans have on the environment.  Today, humans are doing what they can to save the environment in hopes of atoning for past mistakes, but even in their efforts, there are still some creatures that are not easily appeased and in fact hold quite the grudge on humanity.  The best example of this would be the legend of Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion in the Unova region.  During the American Revolutionary War, the Moor of Icirrus was accidentally burned down during a fight between the Americans and the British; this intense fire practically destroyed the wetland habitat and did untold amounts of damage to the surrounding area.  Out of frustration and anger, these three species of Pokemon are said to have attacked both sides and saved most of the Pokemon in the Moor from harm before disappearing for good; the fact that these creatures are almost never seen helps to attest to this history.  It is now said that they remain hidden from human eyes out of disgust even though the Moor of Icirrus has managed to fully recover and human efforts have been made to keep the area safe from harm as much as possible.  Thankfully, most if not all other species of Pokemon have managed to show at least some form of forgiveness to humans for their efforts, as people today are able to live with Pokemon in harmony and out of respect, something that we were incapable of doing so before.  In a sense, it could be said that Pokemon were and still are the only reason why the human race has not destroyed itself.  Although we might think of ourselves as an intelligent species, the fact that humans are much more powerful in regards to technology than all other life make things a bit unfair in the long-run; Pokemon have helped serve as a middle ground between humans and other life-forms that have shown us the danger we can possibly pose and have helped humans retain at least some form of moral obligation to help keep the planet alive, even if it is only for their sake and not our own.

FUTURE

At the rate things are going, it is likely that human efforts at protecting the environment will increase over the next few decades if not hundreds of years into the future and will probably become host to even more extremists on both sides than ever before.  However, these trends will likely make a significant impact on humans that live as part of the environment themselves, as increasing regulations and laws against tampering with the local environment may result in the destruction of important careers such as paleontology, a trend that is already present in some countries.  How far the extremist measures of some groups will go is a question that cannot truly be answered in the modern day, as the hypocritical nature of many extremists pose a danger to humans and Pokemon as a whole.  The human race will either become part of the environment once again and leave the concrete jungles that enshroud so many lives…or it will become so technologically advanced that it will depart from the ground entirely, forbidding others to see the natural environment for themselves and isolating their knowledge to pictures alone.  Both cases have consequences that the human race may be unable to overcome in the long-run, but unless a middle ground can be reached within the next century or so, these choices are the only ones likely to happen.


BATTLE

HUMANS

The abuse in war times that many are familiar with is only a small portion of the injustice that humans have done to Pokemon in the past, but it also serves as a key marker in demonstrating just how far we have managed to come over the years.  Before capture balls were first created, many humans and Pokemon fight alongside each other out of mutual respect and but were rarely ever linked in any fashion; they were effectively little more than pets or solider to many, though the respect both sides held for each other still helped to keep things balanced in the context of daily life.  The advent of capture devices has allowed people and humans to interact much more closely than before, effectively defining what a true trainer of Pokemon is and how it has changed the world around us.  In ancient times, Pokemon were often used for entertainment purposes, particularly by the Romans who enjoyed importing exotic species for the Colosseum.  Today, Pokemon are often used by humans for friendly battles that are designed to act as tests of strength and endurance more than actual battles to the death; the light-hearted yet serious natures of these battles have helped make the sport more than just a simple sport and effectively the most popular form of entertainment on the planet.  These kinds of fatal matches do still occur, however, as "underground" battles test the skill and brute power of a species much more than any other match due to the winner being the last Pokemon still alive.  In a sense, the human race has in fact had a bit of a positive influence on Pokemon in that we have managed to create a middle-ground of common beliefs and interests with the otherwise numerous exotic species, a middle-ground that would have resulted in nothing more than pointless bloodshed if it had never been developed.  Humans have come a long way from their past roots and have managed to perfect the art of battling into something meant to test the connection a trainer has with its Pokemon, as it requires that both sides be able to communicate with each other and understand the tactics they each wish to use in battle to succeed.  Sadly, this has not deterred the use of Pokemon in war, and in some cases has merely encouraged it, as many species are still used for combat training purposes in close-quarters and are occasionally used for other more treacherous purposes; they have many more rights than they had before, but the use of Pokemon for purposes aside from friendly battling is likely to continue until better technology eventually replaces them completely.

POKEMON

The art of battling has had its ups and down in regards to how humans and Pokemon interact and has essentially set the stage for what may eventually become a true partnership in regards to the mental 'ownership' of the planet.  The whole point of being a Pokemon trainer is to find strong Pokemon in the wild and use them as both allies in life and allies on the battlefield, where the skills of both the Pokemon in question and the trainer can be tested thoroughly.  On the one hand, this process has proven to be a saving grace for the whole of humanity, as Pokemon and trainers have learned how to deal with the struggles of not only battle but personal experiences together, as the profession reveals the tender dedication humans and Pokemon each have for life as represented by the numerous losses and grief that life often times brings.  The death of a family member or friend…the loss of a Pokemon to the afterlife…these sorts of things help to build the bond that human and Pokemon have for each other.  In some cases, this has gone far enough to render some species such as Pidove or Swablu docile to the point that they will crowd around people and will enjoy being around them even if they are not actually doing anything.  This sort of mutual respect has become increasingly apparent among modern Pokemon, as human are generally able to walk though forests otherwise filled with deadly species without much issue, showing that Pokemon have at the very least learned to understand humans for both their good and bad traits.  Though it may seem ignorant to say, it is almost certain that humans have actually managed to teach Pokemon something in regards to resolving disputes, as the population of most if not all species has been steadily growing over the last few hundred years, potentially suggesting that Pokemon may be learning to resolve their issues with other Pokemon through non-violent means as a result of observing trainers and their Pokemon.  This sort of transition could possibly mean that Pokemon are developing past at least part of their natural instincts and are becoming more humanlike than we realize, a trait that in turn may lead them to eventually form a global society of their own.

FUTURE

Current trends seem to suggest that Pokemon in general are becoming more and more aware of human activity and are slowly starting to become more passive towards the human race as a whole, a feat that could eventually lead to the formation of a true Pokemon society in the wild.  It is unlikely that battling will necessarily be a key component of such a development, but the tolerance of another species that Pokemon are demonstrating today suggests that it may at least be helping the process along.  Where the future of battling will go is uncertain, but if Pokemon today do in fact end up creating their own form of society, it is likely that it may eventually be outlawed despite the great benefits it has provided so far.


SOCIO-POLITICAL/CULTURAL

HUMANS

Human society, both in the past and the present, is effectively dependent upon Pokemon in one fashion or another for survival.  In ancient times, human often worshipped certain species of Pokemon and in many cases built entire cultures if not religions altogether from their interactions with these creatures.  Ordinary cases, such as the members of the Baltoy and Bronzor families, make at least some sense considering their otherwise abnormal body plans and origins.  Others, such as the Original trio (Dialga, Palkia and Giratina) and Volcarona, are likely to have come to pass only due to chance encounters or the manipulation of a certain power in order to keep human society from falling apart during major natural disasters.  Today, the torch has been passed on to every single member of the human race and has effectively dictated that rise of Pokemon in society as something more than just a group of animals.  The human race has always been enthralled by Pokemon because of their astounding powers and attributes even to the point where Pokemon are often times used as replacements for humans in simple office jobs or construction; to say the least, we depend a lot more on Pokemon in daily life than any one human  could ever imagine alone.  This in turn has changed human society immensely, as the development of humans from simple hunter-gatherers to the complex assortment of lifestyles today has had its roots in understanding how Pokemon and humans are different and how those boundaries define what humans can and cannot do in their minds.  This has likewise created a set of both positive and negative consequences in regards to both culture as a whole and the political nature of the world.  Politically, Pokemon do not have any sort of governmental system that can handle the needs of millions if not billions of members at once, so humans still dominate that sector of the world; even so, Pokemon have been instrumental in passing environmental protection laws and making the art of poaching in many cases highly illegal, in turn shaping the way that humans see the world around them.  There have been some movements made by a few radical groups to employ and possibly create a separate world government for Pokemon, but such attempts have failed due to communication issues between people and Pokemon aside from a few local government systems in some parts of the United States and Europe.  In regards to culture, Pokemon have been important in the development of beliefs and thoughts among individuals and have led both religious and scientific leaders to change the way that they look at the world on more than one occasion.  While most of these changes generally work in the favor of Pokemon (such as sanctuary for abused Pokemon in churches and nunneries), some trends, such as the use of Pokemon as prostitution or 'replacements' for humans in terms of sexual relationships, have come up from the bowels of human depravity and are now a prominent feature of the human race.

POKEMON

Just as humans have changed and adapted to Pokemon over the years from a political standpoint, Pokemon have noticeably changed over the history of the human race and may in fact be on their way to developing a society of their own.  Over the years, humans have done their part in trying to teach Pokemon about humility and other humanistic traits that differentiate the general human populace from what many would simply call 'beasts'; such an outlook is hypocritical and bias to the extreme, but it nonetheless makes a point in stating that humans think much differently than other life-forms.  Pokemon have managed to serve as a true middle-ground between humans and the rest of the world and are slowly acquiring humanistic traits that are being passed down through generations faster than the human race managed to acquire them over its existence.  This would suggest that Pokemon may eventually be able to surpass the human race as a culture and use the skills we have already acquired to create a better society; this is mostly speculative at this point, but evidence does show that it is possible.  The only flaw with this is that Pokemon are inheriting these traits originally from humans and are modifying them based on human behavior; seeing as humans themselves are not the best users of true intelligence, this can potentially prove to be an issue if our negative traits are taken on long before the more positive ones, as it would create a war-like race of organisms that the human race would effectively be incapable of stopping or winning against.  Thankfully, this is highly unlikely, as the most intelligent of species are already far beyond the human race in terms of thinking processes and show great promise for the potential of a utopian society, something that humans could never truly appreciate.  This is not something that should be taken lightly, though, as Pokemon worldwide are already starting to show clear signs of the human race's most distasteful properties, such as greed, vengeance and lust, which could lead them to effectively copy our own systems and adapt them for their purpose.  Whether or not they prove to be a peaceful society at that point is anyone's guess, but the fact that changes are already occurring today means that it may only be a few generations' worth of humans or less away from reality.

FUTURE

While it might be denied by some, there is more than enough present in the socio-political world, the common world of business and the environment as a whole that Pokemon are slowly becoming increasingly humanlike in their thoughts and interactions in the world.  While the influences that are shaping this development may only be within their first tender stages today, at the rate that Pokemon are changing, it is likely that within the next few centuries some form of widespread society will form among Pokemon.  If Pokemon decide to take the same path that humans have, it will likely be a bloody beginning and things may not look so pretty or even acceptable to humans; this is the most crucial moment of development for any race, however, and should not be interfered with, as peace is only ever created in the act of a violent end (something that veterans of war will attest to more than any other).  The way that humans interact with Pokemon today is slowly being altered as these changes are occurring and will likely lead to radical attacks in the future from those who believe that Pokemon are animals and nothing more.  If anything else, it can at least be said that Pokemon will likely outlive the human race and may in fact become our societal descendants in the future, though whether or not our extinction will be by their hands is still indeterminable.


GENETICS

HUMANS AND POKEMON

Although both humans and Pokemon have managed to influence each other quite spectacularly over the millennia, the one interaction that has yet to fully surface is the one that could potentially change everything the world knows about Pokemon more so than any other possible factor.  A species is generally defined by the fact that it chooses to only mate with a select group of individuals in the wild; Pokemon cross that line in that the genetics of each member are different enough for them to be considered different species but still retain the ability to breed with certain other species freely.  This evolutionary adaptation is believed to be one of the key factors that differentiated Pokemon from other creatures long ago and is still retained today, but this feature also has the potential to change everything that humans know about themselves and Pokemon.  The species that a given Pokemon can potentially breed with are all predetermined by their genetic structure at birth; it is this factor that predominantly determines what kinds of Pokemon are capable of interbreeding in the wild and in a controlled setting.  However, among Pokemon, there are a select few species that are actually capable of mating with humans, a trait that has led some to classify the human race inside of its own "Egg Group".  Genetics are often a bit tricky to understand because certain features that may be present are not always capable of living up to their function; in other words, the fact that some species of Pokemon potentially have DNA sequences that are compatible with then human genome does not mean that offspring can always be formed.  In fact, it is the variations in other parts of the genome that make such an event extremely unlikely; in most cases, simulated tests show that the infant that would result would often times be misshaped and unable to survive for very long due to incompatibilities between the physical structure of humans and Pokemon.  The only exception to this rule seems to be with Latias, but unlike what this is suggesting, their young are always guaranteed to consist of only Latias and Latios.

This is, however, not the final word on the issue.  The fact that the process does have the potential to work carries with it some serious implications about what humans and Pokemon are capable of.  If it was someday revealed how such hybrid creatures could be created and safely born without any debilitating complications, it is possible that a new race of organisms could quickly come to life and place even more strain on the moral obligations of society.  Seeing as no true hybrid has been created yet, it would be foolish to surmise that they would form a super-race that would personify the best traits of Pokemon and humans together without either of their flaws; in fact, such a thought is completely absurd.  The incompatibilities of the human form with those of certain species, such as the members of the Ralts and Smoochum families among others, would make any attempt to understand a possible fused anatomy difficult and more than makes it a bit ridiculous today.  Unfortunately, there have been a few close calls in some cases where infants have been born dead or either die shortly after creation as a result of human-Pokemon sexual encounters, but as of today, only one such case has ever demonstrated what looked to be a viable hybrid in the making; seeing as the mother died before birth, however, it will never be known if this was truly the case.  Regardless, the possibility of such creatures existing is still out there, and it seems likely that the human race may in fact come face-to-face with such a creature before the current millennium is over.

FUTURE

The future of hybrid human-Pokemon offspring is more than uncertain and cannot be predicted with any sort of accuracy, but if it does become a reality, it is likely that the human race will have to come to grips with something so few hate to even think about.  The marriage of man and beast is one of evolutionary origins but is commonly associated with only the most depraved of people; this alone gives any and all successful offspring a common assignment as freaks of nature that do not deserve to exist.  If these hybrids begin to physically appear in the world, however, it is more than likely that they may continue to interbreed with either humans or Pokemon or even both potentially; considering that such a genetic fusion is only likely if a perfect balance can be obtained from the varying features of both parent's anatomies, it could be said that these creatures will inherit both the primal and natural powers of their Pokemon parents as well as the humanistic qualities of mankind.  Whether or not this would result in the creation of a 'super-race' of organism is speculative, but if the humans race finds itself facing such creatures in the future, the morals of the world will have to be rewritten to accommodate for their existence.  If anything else, it may be that they and not Pokemon end up as our eventual societal descendants, in turn meaning that at least part of the human race will survive our extinction even if we refuse to die out quietly.


CONCLUSION

Pokemon and humans have been interacting with each other for ages and are likely much more intertwined than most would think, as our world today would truly not be the same without them.  Through the struggles our race has gone through to adapt and become more than reckless beasts for the sake of survival, Pokemon have been developing right alongside us and have changed immensely over time as we have slowly come to respect them for the marvelous creatures that they are.  The future of the world may seem to dictate their rise as a societal power of their own and may in fact tell us that we and Pokemon may end up becoming much closer genetically than we could ever imagine, but in truth, the future is unpredictable and may hold all or none of the things we today think it will contain.  In the end, only time will tell whether our interactions with Pokemon will be for the betterment of all or be the cause of our own demise.  Even then, though, through all of the uncertainty that pervades our current reality, there is one thing that can be said with certainty; the human race is going to have quite a few hurdles to face as current trends in the development of Pokemon continue, and it will be up to the minds of our descendants whether or not Pokemon are ever allowed to peacefully become more than they are today; let us hope that they make the right decision not just for us but the entirety of the world.

Professor Wormwood