Pokemon - Just Another Fad?
A Christian Perspective
By Pastor Brett Paterson, Worthy News

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

How close can we get to the occult and still call it "good social interaction & imagination stretching fun" for kids? Do you really believe there is power in the occultic? Read what the Bible says in II Chronicles 33:6. These are real powers that have one intention – to keep you from knowing God and experiencing His plan and will for your life! Any game, cartoon, etc., that hints at cultic practice is dangerous! Pokemon is a role-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons, MAGIC (another card game like Pokemon), and many other "games" and cartoons that have cultic overtones. Pokemon is a copyright of Nintendo, Japan. It was first created in Japan and is highly influenced by Japanese mysticism. It is very popular there now, and has been since 1996. In 1997, 685 people went into epileptic seizures while watching the Pokemon cartoon. Pokemon is short for "Pocket Monsters." It is the result of influences that are completely mystical. Here are just a few – Buddhist Mysticism, Hinduism, meditation rituals, Egyptian Book of the Dead, Book of Tao, the Analects of Confucius, the Gita, the I Ching, and The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Recently I observed a group of children who were role-playing Pokemon. They were making evil faces and chanting their Pokemon character names over and over! One three year old was chasing another boy almost trance-like in expression saying in a deep, raspy voice, "Bulbasore attack, Bulbasore, Bulbasore." They are meditating and projecting their spirits just like practitioners of the occult!

Pokemon monsters in the game and the cartoon can only say their name, so when they talk they are really chanting their name – the children, I have observed, do the same thing while they are playing. They are actually opening themselves up to personality modification – an occult practice!

Why would Satan influence a game like Pokemon? It opens up players to the demonic realm, channeling (a power some of the pokemon characters have), and possession. Luke 11:24-26 states "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

In the Tibetan tradition, life is a sort of game, and they state that each of the levels of game-existence is associated with a particular color and also certain geographical symbols. Note the energy cards in Pokemon have colors and elements that also refer to powers and positions.

In Japan, Shinto is one of the oldest belief systems and was developed out of worshiping the earth, such as sun, water, rocks, trees and even sounds (Jiggly Puff, a cute Pokemon, sings a song and the sounds put all who hear her into a trance – this is a common type of teaching in Shinto and is very evident in Pokemon)! Many Shinto beliefs were incorporated into Japanese Buddhist practices after its introduction in the 6^th century. Just as they believe in evolution and reincarnation, these ideas are manifest in Pokemon.

In Hebrews 9:27 we read, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." In Pokemon, the monsters actually die to their old self and evolve into the new, more powerful Pokemon. In one Pokemon episode, Bulbasore (a frog) did not want to evolve – some feel this means to just "grow up" – but the idea is to go through a substantial change and it is even suggested that the Pokemon "loses" its former self or in a way dies to his current psyche – a typical example of Pokemon and its cultic influence. Children are subtly being indoctrinated in the theory of evolution and the mysticism in the Pokemon game.

What other influences are evident in Pokemon? It gets more unbelievable and shocking as you read on! Let’s look at what religions like Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, Satanism, and "New Age" teach. Remember, Pokemon’s energy is derived from earth, water, fire, lightning, etc., and the "pocket monsters" are part of the universal whole.

Wicca or Witchcraft is a popular and fast growing religious practice all over the world today. Most witches/warlocks consider their practice something that is learned by experience – not by books. They go through many incredible rituals to become powerful in the craft. Pagans use earthly powers and demonic spirits, shamans use animal spirits – their minds are set on the flesh. (The Bible says the mind set on the flesh is death (Galatians 5:16-23))! Pokemon trainers must go through a lot of training and ritual-type actions to become Master Trainers with the ability to control the Pokemon and their powers.

In paganism and the occult there are spirit guides, messengers, and elementals or artificial elementals. They can be summoned to do things for the "trainer" or "practitioner." They can watch and tell the trainer what they see, guard the trainer, fight with other spirits or elementals, and carry out assignments given by the trainers. In Pokemon, trainers summon one of their Pokemon to battle other monsters and they use them as guardians. In Wicca, guardians, known as Watchtowers, are called. These spirits (and sometimes animals) are called by them to protect them from evil spirits while they open themselves up to these spirits during rituals – the circle, the pentagram, etc., all provide a "safe" area to practice. In Pokemon the monsters are held in a Pokeball until the trainer summons them. In witchcraft these spirits are summoned and called to stay in the circle until needed to fight off bad spirits.

What are our children really playing with – imagination and simple "pocket monsters"? What are we allowing to come into our homes! The elements in Pokemon are foundational to many earth religions and mystic rituals. Most all covens and eastern philosophies and pagan belief systems hold the elements (earth, water, fire and wind) as sources of power, as the Pokemon game does. We draw our power from God, not the earth!

Listen Christians – we are in a battle! The enemy is subtle and is trying to influence our children’s minds. Pokemon teaches all the basics of many false religious and occultic practices! Pokemon also indoctrinates children in evolutionary thought and pagan beliefs! It is not Pokemon that we fight – "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). These "powers" are the very real demonic spirits behind all false religions and self-serving pursuits.

Again, Pokemon is not the enemy – it is Lucifer and all that exalts itself against Jesus Christ and the true path to enlightenment. Pokemon is a tool the enemy can use to build a false foundation and plant seeds of futility in my child – and this I will not allow, and I will, by the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, come against all falsehood and doctrines of demons that try to indoctrinate my child with eastern mysticism and occultic practices.

Please pray and do what the Lord instructs you to do – it is time to take a stand for God and protect our children from the influences of our enemy! My son is six and we had a whole book of Pokemon cards – after praying about it he made the decision to get rid of his cards, because he could see they were evil.