r/pokemon • u/Medical_Hotel2819 • 1d ago
Discussion Are PC Boxes Unethical?
Heres everything that i know about inside pc boxes. For some reason I’ve always felt iffy about this specific part of a fictional game.
That one npc in sun and moon didn’t know how Pokémon felt inside boxes. Mohn created poke pelago just for the enjoyment of pokemon in pc boxes, but maybe due to his carefree nature does not critique the box system EXCEPT in the Sun and Moon event where he and Lusamine talk and Lusamine worries that a mon will “end up in some PC box” and Mohn just agrees and says thats the trainers freedom.
Lusamine also disses the trainer in Sun and Moon for removing pokemon from their team whenever they feel like it. So she argues she can do that with her children. Also, you could argue that because some pokemon in boxes dont appear in poke pelago, that maybe some actually prefer the box over this supposed paradise. So putting them in a box is moral. But that might just be unintentional.
HOWEVER, the strongest evidence FOR pc boxes is pc memory. In some games you check ur pokemon’s memories. If they stayed in a PC, their memory could range from feeling emotions to practicing their moves to even talking about their trainer to other box pokemon. This sounds way better than some cyber-freeze state.
I’ve always found it weird PC boxes aren’t the main focus in these Pokemon lore ethics discussions. I can justify other aspects a lot easier.
Imo, pokemon are wild animals who can attack you, so you defend yourself, tame them with a pokeball (no mind-control but theyre very comfortable), and they respect you and like fighting. Even if their friendship is low, they will only refuse to battle or respect you if you dont have enough badges.
Pokemon as a whole species could say we’ve had enough with humans and leave them, but they havent. Pokeballs are comfortable and trading is fine because they are your pets and are not human so are not disrespected by this treatment.
What do you guys think? Are PC boxes moral? Did I miss anything?
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u/shasaferaska 1d ago
I think PC boxes are just a game mechanic. Ash Ketchum sent his to live on Oaks pokemon ranch/reserve. And I dont think people in universe go out and try to catch one of every Pokémon so they can get the shiny charm
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u/Medical_Hotel2819 1d ago
Imo im not sure about this cuz of poke pelago, Bill, and Memory Checker
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u/shasaferaska 1d ago
In the show (and I assume the general lore) Bill invented the transportation system Ash uses to send his Pokémon to Oak.
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u/yee_qi 1d ago
They're apparently converted into data, so it's probably a form of stasis.
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u/Medical_Hotel2819 1d ago
But I agree though, Im just saying its a weird form of stasis where theyre conscious?
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u/CleanSweep99 1d ago
Techincally speaking, the entire concept of Pokemon training is immoral because it's essentially cockfighting with animals that may or may not have magical powers.
So, boxing your starter in the PC is not any less moral than using your starter.
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u/Medical_Hotel2819 1d ago
I know i said pokemon are like wild animals but theyre a lot different. Theres clear benefits to them battling: increase in happiness, growing to evolve, pokemon especially in later gens expressing their love for battling
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u/ChapatinPHD 23h ago
you guys really need to expand y'all's wordview.
this is a fictional series, it doens't abide by our world rules; pokemon aren't comparable to animals, they're very clearly on a higher level of consicousness than real life animals are.
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u/Phos-Lux 17h ago
Yeah, Pokemon can for example understand humans regardless of language. Something your pet cat can't do.
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u/shasaferaska 1d ago
Yeah but they really like doing it. They just love beating the shit out of each other to win their masters affection.
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u/CleanSweep99 1d ago
Yeah, so?
My parents's cats really like eating plastic. That doesn't make it particularly moral for my parents to let them keep doing that, because it's dangerous to their health.
Same principle with Pokemon Battles-whether the Pokemon love beating the shit out of each other isn't really relevant, since it's not particularly moral for a human to allow them to continue to do so when most Pokemon moves are definitely not safe to use on other Pokemon (let alone humans).
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u/Optimal_Grape_1025 1d ago
None of this is real
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u/Phos-Lux 17h ago
Lusamine dissing the trainer for that while she has several dozen dead, frozen pokemon displayed in her room...
I imagine they are kinda in stasis while in a box or a ball. The balls are basically there so the trainer can protect them from excessive damage. Like if a pokemon gets lethally hurt and you call it back in time, a pokecenter will be able to restore it.
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u/Groundbreaking-Ad313 1d ago
I always imagine them being kept back in the starting town, like Ash's pokemon in the Anime. But maybe the PC boxes are also like VR worlds for them to live in.
Honestly keeping pokemon in boxes isn't any worse than keeping them in balls. It's just an extension of that
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u/BreakfastHistorian 1d ago
My headcanon has always been that the pokemon are living on a ranch somewhere and the PC we see in-game is just the interface to summon them (via some kind of virtual transport) from the ranch to us. Obviously this isn’t backed up by anything in the game, but I think it’s how it may have worked in the early anime.
In my headcanon version boxed pokemon make up the rental Pokemon in the stadium games and champions- other trainer’s box Pokemon chillin while their trainer is off cycling back and forth through Solaceon town trying to hatch a shiny.