Alright guys. I'm doing an argumentative essay in English, and one of the required sources is a poll. So, simply put, should parents allow children to play Pokemon. Please, please, please comment with an opinion about why you voted the way you did.

It'd also be nice if I could get answers as soon as possible. >>;

I think they should. I don’t see why they shouldn’t be able to, I mean, sure there is some kind of violence But I’m not of the belief seeing fictional animals tackle each other will make a kid want to hurt other people or animals. Its not overtly complicated in the basic sense of the word, it has a lot of fun things, and it does try and make you care for the Pokemon you have, so that always a good thing I'd say o.o

Okay, well, I guess I will be the first one of the six who voted to leave my own explanation as to my answer. For reference, I choose "Yes".

Why did I choose yes? Well, on a personal level, I started playing Pokemon at a relatively young age as I believe I was about 8 or 9 when Red and Blue came out. I have played every generation of Pokemon up until this most recent one and, as games go, it's pretty calm. I guess you could consider some of the pieces of it to be a bad influence on kids or whatever, but how many people do you know that are trying to make their pet cat fight their pet turtle? Well.. don't answer that.

There are FAR worse games out in the world that are multiples more violent and more life-like than Pokemon and, yet, there are still kids playing them. That's neither here or there though. I don't see many reasons, outside of the money you throw at the companies for it, why a parent shouldn't let their kids play Pokemon. It gives them something to do and a fantasy world to live in where they can take a normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill animal and teach them supernatural moves and battle with other people who did the same thing.

I really don't think my explanation was that great, but on a basic level: What reason is there to keep kids from Pokemon?

Should children play Pokemon, I voted yes. I've actually spent a few years reading several different point of views on this subject, those arguing that it's too violent, it's cruelty against animals and that it's even Satanic. All of those arguments, I've quite honestly laughed at. People are god damned stupid for over thinking such a simple, simple game premise, which is to have fun with people all over the world.

Quite simply, it's a very kid friendly game where while there is a bit of violence it's neither over the top nor cruel, nothing actually dies. Furthermore, there are many, many characters throughout which talk about the bond between themselves and their Pokemon and how important that bond and friendship are to them. The later versions of this game have even added onto this, by making people able to play with others across the globe via a wifi connection allowing them to form friendships of their own via friendly battles, or trades.

To look at this game as something bad, where we should keep it away from kids, when it has brought so many people together, forming a very large community.. That's what I not only find jaded, but cruel in itself as it denies that child from the possibility of making a new friend, not just down the street but on the other side of the globe. For that, ignoring everything else about the game, is what it has done for me and how I see it.

Personally I would say that parents should have no problem letting children play Pokemon. There are far worse games out there that a kid could be playing.

The only possible reason I can really think of that a parent shouldn't let a kid play Pokemon is if that kid is neglecting their responsibilities such as homework or chores in favor of playing Pokemon. Other than that I can't really think of any other reason for why a parent shouldn't let their kid play Pokemon.

That kind of goes for all hames. Or any other activity for which a child might neglect thier activities o.o

My thoughts echo those of everyone else, essentially; why not?

Pokemon is no worse than any other game, and is far better than most. My childhood was spent eating the good mushrooms, stepping on the bad ones, and performing turtle genocide. Also I threw fireballs at things. Yay pyromania.

If anything Super Mario Bros teaches kids the worst possible values, aside from saving the princess. And nobody ever asks "should I let my kids play Mario?"

To be honest, I'm more interested in hearing the opinion of the one person who voted no.

Well, it teaches subjugation and horrible mistreatment of animals, for one thing. By 8 year olds. For 8 year olds. It's just like cockfighting or dog fighting. You send these animals at each other and celebrate them utterly destroying each other. And it's supposed to be fun?

It also encourages running away and delinquency because, as long as you have a phone it's okay to GO ACROSS THE WORLD when you're 8 or 12 or however old you are. And battle a million people and kill/maim their trapped animals for profit. It's kinda sick when you think about it.

Since there wasn't a definition of child, I am assuming something that's 8 years or so, which is pretty damn impressionable and will dictate any future actions for that individual.

I'm going to make a couple of points after some observations I have made in regards to pokemon.

1. After watching Pokemon Origins, it kind of hit me in a clear, uncomfortable way how HORRIBLE it is to pit pokemon against each other. After you hear a Charmander scream in pain, it kind of changes your perspective on things.

2. I always thought it was bizarre how these 10 year old (or however old it is) trainers get to go on these long crazy journeys all over the world. I mean, wtf is up with their parents? "Sure Jimmy, go play capture wild animals and roam across the world." Yea, there doesn't seem to be the kind of crime rates we have, but kids are stupid and clumsy. One wrong berry and little Jimmy could be KO'd. Or! One misstep along a mountain's cliff and GERONIMO! Just the blase acceptance has always struck me as weird.

Other than that, I don't have much to add. I grew up playing Red and Blue at a very impressionable age, and while I didn't feel bad for murdering Kakunas, I didn't go out and kill dogs and cats or pit them in fights against each other. But I was taught some pretty strong values and knew there was a disconnect between video games and real life. Its up to the parent really, I mean if you don't want your kid playing a game, thats your choice. I do think parents should be in tune with whatever their kids are playing and doing, and not just for monitoring, but to maybe share interests and hobbies together. I know when I was little, I would have gotten a huge kick out of sharing my gaming experience with my parents.

I feel genuinely sorry for anyone who bears an eight-year-old child so impressionable that Pokemon will dictate future actions in a manner even remotely geared toward animal cruelty. Kid should be kept from old-school Disney movies at all costs.

A child left to its own can be impressionable enough to try and run of on a great journey by itself (though really, most cartoon's/games kind of have outlandish concepts...) or perhaps try and whack a friend he is mad at with some heavy object... Still, as Az pointed out, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as the parent pays attention to what their kids are doing. I mean, I wouldn’t mind my child playing the game, but I'd feel a bit iffy about letting him watch Origins (though on the other hand, it could be a good point to show that animals actually do feel pain). But I think the original show made a good point of showing that you SHOULD care about you animals, see them as friends not things.

Sorry for the somewhat long winded response, I just get a bit annoyed when I hear about stuff like a kid brining a knife and gun to school cause he was playing mine craft, or Peta doing their Pokemon "parody". Games could warp a child’s psyche in a bad way, but so could TV, or a book, or something happening in real life. It’s the parents job to make sure they grow healthy in body and mind. And personally, I’ll admit I played some games before I should have, and I think I turned out relatively sane o.o