Pokémon has Always Been Woke: Embracing Diversity Since 1996: How Pokémon Was "Woke" Before It Was Cool.

From its inception, Pokémon subtly conveys messages of diversity, the strength of connection, and the power found in differences. Despite this, some online critics claim Pokémon has become "too woke." However, this complaint, common across many franchises, isn't about the game suddenly transforming into a "political" statement on issues like climate change or capitalism.

Instead, their objection is directed at including BIPOC characters, multicultural environments, and queer-coded personalities within a game they mistakenly believe was once a "neutral" experience of catching and training colorful creatures. They long for a sanitized version of the series that, in reality, never existed. Since its 1996 debut in Japan, diversity and inclusivity have been fundamental to Pokémon's identity, forming part of its core DNA rather than being a recent trend or corporate directive.

Fast Facts on Pokémon’s Diversity Legacy

• 1997 (Anime): Brock, the first Black-coded main character, is introduced.
• 2001 (Crystal): Kris/Marina debuts as the first playable female character in the games.
• 2002 (Ruby & Sapphire): May becomes the first female rival in any Pokémon game.
• 2006 (Diamond & Pearl): Cynthia is the first female Champion in the games.
• 2010 (Black & White): Unova, the first region modeled after a real-world location outside Japan (Post-9/11 New York), is introduced.
• 2013 (X & Y): Player customization, including expanded gender expression options, makes its debut.

• 2016 (Sun & Moon): Alola, the first openly Polynesian-coded region, is introduced.

A World Built From Many Cultures

The world of Pokémon has always embraced cultural diversity, even in its earliest iterations. While the regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh drew inspiration from different parts of Japan, their characters, cities, and traditions freely incorporated global influences. Early gym leaders exemplified this: Lt. Surge was distinctly American, a towering figure in a Japanese-inspired setting, while Sabrina's mysterious aura blended Western occultism with Eastern spirituality.

Later, Johto's Ecruteak City showcased a fusion of Japanese and Chinese architectural styles, and Hoenn's Flannery and Winona displayed fashion and personalities influenced by punk subcultures and European elegance. As the franchise based its regions on real-world countries—Unova on New York, Kalos on France, Alola on Hawaii, Galar on the UK, and Paldea on Spain and Portugal—this multiculturalism became even more pronounced. In Unova, Lenora, a Black woman, ran a significant museum, while Clay's demeanor and style reflected Southeastern American ranch life. Alola was overtly Polynesian, celebrating island traditions through its clothing, dances, and values. Paldea brought Iberian and Afro-Latino influences to the forefront, unequivocally showing the franchise's global reach.

Representation Without Tokenism

Pokemon has consistently featured diverse representation, with BIPOC characters integrated into its cast for nearly three decades, rather than being tokenistic. From the outset, Brock, the dark-skinned Pewter City gym leader, became a widely recognized character and traveling companion to Ash Ketchum. Later, Iris, who radiated Black-coded energy and joy, ascended to become the Unova Champion. Nessa from Sword & Shield achieved cultural icon status not as a “diversity checkbox,” but because of her exceptional leadership, athletic prowess, and remarkable character design.

Similarly, Raihan, who blended South Asian and British stylistic influences, stood out as one of Galar’s most charismatic trainers, while Alola’s Kiawe proudly embraced his Polynesian heritage. A crucial aspect of the Pokemon world is that these characters’ legitimacy or belonging is never questioned. Their presence in leadership roles is simply a fact of life, delivering a subtle yet powerful message to millions of players.

In Pokemon, there’s no interrogation of why the Champion is a young Black woman, why a Polynesian teenager leads a Fire trail, or why a fashion-forward man wears androgynous silk. They simply exist—and that is the core message.

Queer-Coded Characters and Gender Expression

Pokemon has consistently incorporated themes of queerness and gender expression since its inception, even if explicit labels for sexuality or gender identity are rare within the franchise. Early on, the anime's Team Rocket, particularly James, embraced camp, androgyny, and nonconformity. James frequently appeared in drag in many episodes, adopting hyper-feminine roles without judgment from his teammates, Jessie and Meowth, a concept that predates mainstream acceptance in children's media.

Later, characters like Harley, May Maple's coordinator rival in Advanced Generation, embodied flamboyant theatricality. Wallace, the elegant water-type gym leader-turned-Champion in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, exuded a queer-coded refinement. More recently, Rika from Paldea has garnered attention for their androgynous style and non-binary-coded presentation, resonating with LGBTQ+ players who seek self-representation within the franchise.

The games themselves have moved beyond suggestion, offering direct avenues for player expression. Customization options introduced in X & Y, along with fully engendered hairstyles and clothing in Sword & Shield, enable players to embody their own identities within the Pokemon world.

Friendships That Cross Borders and Cultures

Anime and games have consistently portrayed cross-cultural friendships. Ash's diverse traveling companions throughout the years exemplify this: the original trio of Brock and Misty; Iris and Cilan, who blend Black-coded energy with European sophistication; Kiawe and Mallow, representing Polynesian and tropical culinary influences; and Goh's close, emotionally intimate bond with Ash in Journeys, which many fans interpret as queer-coded.

These relationships are not presented as remarkable for transcending cultural boundaries; rather, they are simply an inherent aspect of the Pokemon world. In Pokemon, diversity is never a "very special episode" moral lesson; it is simply the natural state of things.

Political Allegories Hidden in Plain Sight

Pokémon have consistently explored complex political and social themes beyond simple representation. From its earliest games, the series has used allegorical storytelling to tackle real-world issues.

In the original Red and Blue games, the villainous Team Rocket, a criminal syndicate, embodied unchecked capitalism. Their business model revolved around exploiting Pokémon for profit through activities like cutting off Slowpoke tails, experimenting on captured Pokémon, and monopolizing technology. These games confronted animal cruelty, corporate corruption, and resource exploitation as central conflicts.

The Johto era (Gold, Silver, and Crystal games and Johto Journeys anime) sharpened these themes. Team Rocket's return featured crimes with stronger real-world parallels, such as poaching Slowpoke for their tails in the Slowpoke Well, a simple metaphor for illegal wildlife trafficking with ecological consequences. Their seizure of Goldenrod Radio Tower to broadcast propaganda also mirrored hostile media takeovers. The anime further wove politics into its plots through stories of Pokémon poachers, corporate exploitation, and ethical dilemmas in trainer-Pokémon relationships.

The Hoenn games (Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald) shifted to an environmental parable. Rival organizations, Team Magma and Team Aqua, triggered climate disasters in their hubristic attempts to reshape the planet. This presented climate change as a JRPG narrative, with human arrogance causing flooding cities and burning landscapes. The Advanced Generation anime reinforced these themes, using legendary Pokémon to symbolize nature's delicate systems and showing humanity's late understanding of its meddling's consequences.

The Sinnoh era (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum games, and Diamond & Pearl anime) offered perhaps Pokémon's most philosophical exploration. Team Galactic's leader, Cyrus, sought to create a new world devoid of emotion, reflecting nihilism, radical utopianism, blind loyalty, and the allure of charismatic leaders. The anime expanded on how ordinary people could be drawn into Cyrus's ideology and introduced Hunter J, a poacher whose arcs critiqued black-market wildlife trade through unsettling depictions of her freezing and capturing living Pokémon.

By Black & White, Pokémon delved into one of its boldest narratives. Team Plasma, initially appearing to advocate for Pokémon liberation, masked the manipulative schemes of Ghetsis, who exploited his stepson for control. The plot explored how idealism can be perverted into authoritarianism and how propaganda can turn a population against itself, offering sophisticated commentary for a franchise built on battling cute creatures.

X & Y presented Pokémon's most explicit anti-war message. The villain, Lysandre, sought to preserve beauty by wiping out most of humanity because of finite resources. His plan involved reviving an ancient superweapon from a 3,000-year-old war, built by the grief-stricken King AZ after his Pokémon's death. This "ultimate weapon" served as a clear allegory for weapons of mass destruction, and the narrative directly highlighted the ruinous consequences of revenge. The XY anime adapted this arc, emphasizing Lysandre's tragic zealotry and portraying the heroes' resistance as a collective, cross-cultural effort against a charismatic authoritarian.

Even the regions themselves subtly carry political undertones. Alola (Sun and Moon) mirrors Hawaii, acknowledging its colonial history and cultural blending. The story explored the tension between preserving local traditions and adapting to modern pressures, while critiquing corporate greenwashing through the Aether Foundation, which hid dangerous experiments and authoritarian control behind a conservationist facade. The Ultra Beasts served as an allegory for invasive species and their ecological disruption.

In Sword and Shield, the Galar region's politics centered on resource management and monopolistic control. Chairman Rose, driven by an obsession to solve an energy crisis, risked catastrophic destruction in the present. His empire spanning sports, energy, and media served as a reminder of the dangers of power concentrated in too few hands.

Finally, Scarlet and Violet ventured into more personal territory, exploring AI ethics, parental neglect, and unchecked ambition, all framed within the mystery of Area Zero.

Even the Anime Itself Was Just As Political As the Games It’s Based On.

For almost three decades, the Pokemon anime has consistently presented complex themes, often simplifying them for younger audiences without losing their core messages. For example, Team Galactic’s schemes in Diamond and Pearl revolve around manipulating communities for personal gain. The XY and XYZ arc stands out as one of the franchise’s most overtly anti-authoritarian narratives, where friendship and unity are presented as the only forces capable of countering ideological extremism. Even the lighter Journeys series integrates recurring themes of climate change, endangered species protection, and global cooperation.

These political and moral undercurrents are also prominent in the Pokemon movies. Mewtwo Strikes Back directly debates genetic engineering, sentience, and the rights of created life versus "natural" beings. The Power of One uses a prophecy of ecological collapse to warn against greed and human arrogance, while Genesect and the Legend Awakened functions as an allegory for refugee crises, with displaced Pokemon struggling to adapt to a changed world. These elements are not merely pretexts for flashy battles; they are concise dramas designed to influence how young viewers perceive power, responsibility, and empathy.

The Heart of Pokemon’s Philosophy

At its core, Pokemon has always promoted cooperation amidst differences. The foundational principle—that humans and Pokemon, distinct species, can coexist with respect and mutual growth—serves as a potent metaphor for human diversity. The consistent inclusion of characters from various ethnicities, cultures, and gender expressions throughout the games and anime isn't an arbitrary agenda, but a natural extension of the franchise's guiding philosophy since its inception.

This commitment to diversity is precisely why Pokemon has resonated so deeply across languages, nations, and communities for nearly three decades. It consistently presents a world where diversity is inherent, connections are powerful, and the strength of a community blossoms from its variety.

Nothing Has Changed-Except Visibility

Pokémon has always been inclusive, a truth that belies complaints of recent "wokeness." Those who claim the franchise "used to be apolitical" simply didn't notice, or didn't mind, its subtle and obvious forms of political storytelling and representation before. Nothing has changed; this inclusiveness has been present since the very first Poké Ball was thrown, from the early sprite days of Kanto to the lush open worlds of Paldea. It has only become more apparent as the franchise's visuals, settings, and marketing have developed.