Life Lessons From Gaming That May Get You Arrested: Pokémon and House-Breaking

The unstoppable success-devouring juggernaut that is Pokémon has a lot to answer for. Not least of all, addicting a generation of impressionable youngsters to a series that's changed as little over the years as your local friendly hobo's clothing (mine's called Dave, he'll be delighted with this mention and his newfound quasi-fame). My main issue with the series, though, is its laissez-faire attitude to the concepts of personal property and breaking and entering.

Meet the hero of the Pokétitles, a fellow known only as 'Red'. On his quest to be the best at forcing a ragtag bunch of mutated wildlife to try and kill each other, he travels the world. His first stop when arriving at each new city? The homes of complete strangers. He strides merrily in, the occupants utterly unperturbed by his sudden appearance in their kitchen (Try that in a women's locker room and see where it gets you).

Some even bestow helpful items on him. Whether they were extorted by menace or not is unknown, but seems unlikely. Perhaps Red is the new Messiah, who must receive the gifts he is due from those he graces with his presence. Sadly, there's no gold or frankincense available. These people have a bountiful supply of pokéballs and blindingly obvious pieces of idiotic 'advice' though, which works just as well.

But I say pokéballs to that theory. I can only assume the developers are secretly training their legions of young fans to become a generation of kleptomaniacs.


There are two important distinctions between this world and our own to bear in mind. Nobody locks their doors at night in the Pokémon universe, and they don't appear to have a police force to speak of. With this in mind, perhaps a rule of thumb is needed. If you need to smash/break something to gain access, you can't pass it off as a 'harmless unannounced visit, like in Pokémon'. Nor is it acceptable to borrow a stereo and TV on your way out.

Article by Chris Littlechild