Will someone please defend Pokemon?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Am I a weird kid because I didn't think Star Wars or Pokemon were real as a kid? I mean, I got into that stuff (apparently I used to run around the house saying "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Repair to die." after seeing The Princess Bride. To my own father, too.) but I was never convinced that I could cast magic spells just like Harry Potter or anything.

[Nate]

You're right. No where does it say things go *Flash!* and add three letters to their names. XD

Not sure why you put the word "theory" in bold in your quotation of me. Since anyone who passed eighth grade science class knows that in science the word "theory" means "something that has been observed to be true through observation and experimentation." You do realize gravity is a theory too, yes? But I wouldn't try jumping off the Empire State Building just because "gravity is only a THEORY man." The only reason they don't just call it fact is because occasionally things that were accepted theories for years turned out to be false through experimentation.

A good example is of course phlogiston. What's phlogiston? It was the number one accepted theory for why things burned. The theory holds that all flammable materials contain phlogiston, a substance without color, odor, taste, or mass that is liberated in burning. Once burned, the "dephlogisticated" substance was held to be in its "true" form, the calx.

In fact, it was a great theory. It even explained why if you put something in an enclosed space and lit it on fire, the fire would extinguish (because air can only hold so much phlogiston, and if the space was enclosed, there was no more phlogiston to burn).

So how did the theory of phlogiston eventually get proven false? Because some materials (magnesium for example) actually gain mass when they burn. Some phlogiston proponents explained this by concluding that phlogiston had negative weight]why[/i] this happens. That it already happens is fact, but the mechanism by which it happens is what the theory is. So let's go back to gravity. We know things fall. We see it all the time. If the theory of gravity was proven wrong tomorrow, would everything fly off the planet into space? Of course not. It just means we misunderstood why things fall. "Gravity" still happens, in the sense that things will still fall to the ground, but the reason why it happens is the mystery. Things will continue to fall even if our theory of gravity is wrong. And if that's the case, science will come up with a new theory of why things fall that better fits the evidence. But things will continue to fall regardless of whether we have a theory on it or not.

There are of course also laws in science, the difference being that a theory are accepted as true only because nobody has proven it false yet, and a law is an analytic statement, usually with an empirically determined constant. In other words, laws are things that can't be proven false (supposedly). Things like the laws of thermodynamics, for example, cannot be proven false and such are laws rather than theories.

Anyway such ends my standard lessons on how "theory" does not mean "guess" in the language of science.

[Fish and Chips]

There are no attacks that have you holding down the button. That is an absolute lie, one that can be easily proven to be a lie by playing the game for more than one minute.

But Nate, if you hold down the B button it totally increases your chances of catching a pokemon.

[Cognitive Gear]

But Nate, if you hold down the B button it totally increases your chances of catching a pokemon.

Man, you know that isn't true.

It's down + A.

[Nate]

Man, you know that isn't true.

It's down + A.

No, it's you hold down A until the ball hits the ground then you tap the A button rapidly.

[MasterDias]

Man, I wasn't aware anyone actually had a problem with Pokemon anymore. There were articles against it when it first came out, but all that died down and I haven't heard of any in years.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Man I thought you were gonna link THIS tract:

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp

Which is even stupider than the one you posted.

I like how they assume anyone who's ever played any game or ever listened to a guitar riff is absolutely obsessed with it and will kill themselves over it. I mean yeah, if you became suicidal over DnD or rock music, you have a problem. You'd have those issues if those things didn't exist anyway. But anyway...

I really have no idea why Pokemon has been singled out as evil. Maybe they think it encourages dog fights.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

For me, the most desipicable thing about Pokemon isn't that it's Satanic (it's not). It's that it's a show based around consumerism. Marketing at it's finest. Also, Digimon had much better creatures, a much better story, more interesting characters (with some character development - say what?!). Overall, it's just much better.

[Nate]

It's that it's a show based around consumerism.

Um, what? No. No it isn't. It's based around being social (the games came first). That's why the creator made sure you couldn't catch all 150 in one cartridge. Because he wanted kids to go out and meet other kids and trade and talk and battle. It was always about kids meeting other kids and making friends.

And why are you giving Digimon a pass when it's just as consumerist as Pokemon? It started out as virtual pet toys and also created video games, a card game, a television show, movies, and so on. Pretty much every children's show in Japan is based around consumerism. We've talked about this in the "heat death of the anime industry" thread. In Japan, anime doesn't depend on DVD sales like it does in other regions. In Japan, anime makes money off of toys and merchandise. It thrives off consumerism.

Digimon may have a better anime story, but it's certainly guilty of all the same things Pokemon is.

[mechana2015]

Mewster, I can't find the article based on what you told me, Sherry the Republican turns up no people or blogs and adding anti pokemon onto it gives me exactly zero results.

[Dante]

I'm not big into the supernatural because it leads into the occult

I would like to point that miracle and in fact God himself do not fall under the "natural" title and are hence both "supernatural". Just saying.

[Atria35]

My grandmother thought that watching Pokemon was gonna make me go out and abuse animals.

She was rather shocked when, in the middle of listening to her complain about it, her darling little 5-year-old granddaughter looked her in the eye and told her that it was just a TV show.

My parents let me watch any kid's show I wanted after that. (note- yes, this probably also had something to do with the fact that my mom doesn't like my grandmother and was highly amused by my telling her off.)

[Mr. SmartyPants]

No, it's you hold down A until the ball hits the ground then you tap the A button rapidly.

Wrong, nubcakes. It's Back + A.

[Hansha]

I'd imagine they were about as serious as these people:
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0034/0034_01.asp

Is it bad that I find these tracts endlessly entertaining?

[Furen]

Though some of the parts in these comics are really cheesy, they took some stuff out of context like Acts 19:19, it doesn't say to burn rock music... (though it does talk about burning occultic scrolls)

Oh yeah, smarty, there's another way...
Buy a master ball.

Duplication of pokemon work too (don't try unless you're willing on possibly losing everything as it's either lose everything or gain an extra pokemon)

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Nate, okay, so Digimon had a pretty good marketing strategy too but there was far more to the story than just 'collect them all' and fight etc.

[Davidizer13]

Wrong, nubcakes. It's Back + A.

You kids and your newfangled new-generation Pokeyman video games. Everyone knows it's Up + Up + Down + Down + Left + Right + Left + Right + A + B + C + Start, and then you can use the samurai dragon dude from the last game, and he'll catch all your shiny legendary EX Plus Alpha thingies for you.

Is it bad that I find these tracts endlessly entertaining?

Well, the only guy who doesn't find them unintentionally hilarious is Mr. Chick himself. They kinda make fun of themselves, and he's trying so hard to be serious, ya know?

[Yamamaya]

This thread reminds me of a certain video.

Oh yes, this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjHrExOM-ww

[Hansha]

This thread reminds me of a certain video.

Oh yes, this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjHrExOM-ww

I love how when they pan to the audience there's a girl looking like " Is he serious?"

Jigglypuff is after your soul!!! D:

edit: ok found this one on the same sermon. so funny... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTFWkz8bvyo&feature=related

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Oh my. He totally took everything out of context. I don't see anything he's saying. It's a huge marketing strategy that can (in some cases) lead to kids fighting each other for cards etc. But that's it. A Pokemon Master isn't someone who channels spirits. It's someone who's top-dog, the champion of the Pokemon trainers. Nothing sinister. I wonder what he makes of the titles 'Headmaster' and 'Master' Joe Blogs. It's too silly for words. Pokemon is just another take on kids collecting insects and learning all about them.

[Rusty Claymore]

He obviously never traded his poke'mon with anyone. They don't always obey you!

I'd like to see this guy tell Master T, my Christian TKD instructor, that he is a channeller. Then again, it'd probably be over too fast to be entertaining. XD

HEY WAIT! Genesis 1:29 ...and subdue it[the earth], and have dominion over the fish, birds, and every living thing...
So in a modern translation, the original comission from God is, "YOU GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL!" God clearly endorses Poke'mon. XD

[Yuki-Anne]

Is it bad that I find these tracts endlessly entertaining?

I love how one band member gets AIDS, another OD's, and the other is "into vampirism." It was like, "Okay, yeah, I'm tracking with you, you're being a tool, but it could happen, yeah, yeah, a bit far-fetched but whatev-WAIT, VAMPIRISM?!"

ROCK'N'ROLL WILL MAKE YOU A VAMPIRE. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS.

[rocklobster]

Wonder what Jack Chick thinks of Christian rockers like Superchic and Skillet.

[Yuki-Anne]

Wonder what Jack Chick thinks of Christian rockers like Superchic and Skillet.

He makes it pretty clear that "Christian rock" is just the devil's way of sneaking his evil into the church.

Because you know Satan loves nothing more than a strong beat, but Jesus came to save us from our reverb.

[ShiroiHikari]

Don't you know that the electric guitar was forged in the fires of hell?

[Atria35]

And guitar strings are made from the guts of the innocent.

[mechana2015]

I thought that was tennis rackets.

[Yamamaya]

Jack Chick is the purest example of the law that one cannot tell with absolute certainty that something is a parody of stupidity or stupidity itself.

I do love his tracks about the end of times and NWO. He tries so hard to make them serious but yet they end of being hilarious.

Yes I'm thinking of the one where the little kid acts like a fascist and holds up pictures of cats and dogs, "MY TEACHER TOLD US THESE MAKE GOOD SACRIFICES. SHE'S A WITCH DIDN'T YOU KNOW THAT! I'M GOING TO LEARN HOW TO TRACK DOWN HERETICS."

[Peanut]

And guitar strings are made from the guts of the innocent.

Don't forget that the guitar pick is really just a chip off of one of the devil's teeth.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Oh my. He totally took everything out of context. I don't see anything he's saying. It's a huge marketing strategy that can (in some cases) lead to kids fighting each other for cards etc. But that's it. A Pokemon Master isn't someone who channels spirits. It's someone who's top-dog, the champion of the Pokemon trainers. Nothing sinister. I wonder what he makes of the titles 'Headmaster' and 'Master' Joe Blogs. It's too silly for words. Pokemon is just another take on kids collecting insects and learning all about them.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that to be a Pokemon Master means you have every Pokemon there is, not just being the champion.