Revisiting Pokemon

Last week the boys came to me and asked for more information on Pokemon. I remember many years ago our church sent out information about it and I got the gist of it. Pokemon was not something I wanted my kids getting into and they seemed to accept that very well. 

Well there seems to be a huge resurgence of Pokemon, Yugioh, Bakugan and Duel Masters. They are all Trading Card Games (TCG'S). Star Wars even has their own version and Disney recently came out with a version called Kingdom Hearts. Many of these games seem harmless until you investigate deeper into them. The boys asked me if we could find information on why Pokemon and some of these other games are so bad. They were not asking for themselves but out of concern for their friends who have gotten sucked into this new wave. Rocker told me his heart hurt last week because our neighbor was collecting and playing Pokemon pretty heavily. Rocker said nothing he told D would change his mind. Telling kids it's evil just doesn't work. They need information and education. So I set to work finding the info they needed that would be applicable to them.

See we can't tell these kids it's of the devil or from the occult. Most of them have never heard this stuff before. I prayed and asked for wisdom. My first stop was at the website of Wizards of the Coast. They are the creators of Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering. Card games that are blatantly occult. They are also the creators of Pokemon. Well come to find out after some research Wizards of the Coast lost their licencesure for Pokemon and it was bought out by Nintendo in 2003. It's popularity was waning because of it's association to Wizards of the Coast. Although Nintendo bought out the rights they have not altered the game any. I found a great video on YouTube that explained the evilness behind Pokemon and allowed the boys to watch it. The best comment was not about the occults influence in creating Pokemon but the cartoon characters themselves. This man explained if parents and kids have no understanding of the occult talking to them about it is useless. He explained that the moral value is what you can base your argument on.

Ash the main character in the cartoon is described as a know-it-all, selfish, hot headed, highly competitive, brat. His companion Misty is  seductively dressed and is also described as rash, flirtatious and competitive. Both wanting to be Pokemon masters will do anything to "Catch them all!" (refering to catching the Pokemon creatures) I sat down with the boys a couple of years ago and watched an episode with them. The rule in our house is new cartoons have to be watched with my husband and I before they are approved of. I was blown away with the cartoon characters behavior. I did not want my kids acting or behaving in that way at all. So I explained to the boys how we could approach this in the same manner. What benefits does Pokemon have on people's behavior? They were able to see the link between Pokemon and the occult but I felt they had more ammunition by understanding that the cartoon was encouraging very bad behavior.

I also began to look up and investigate other TCG's and was surprised to see the results. Wizard's of the Coast bought the rights to distribute Star Wars trading cards and MLB cards. They even had a sight where you could link to for Jedi Maser Counseling. Scary!  Duel Masters and Neo Pets are also made by Wizards of the Coast.

There is so much more I could post about TCG's. This was really only the tip of the ice berg. I guess my only real warning to parents right now is check into the games your  children are playing. They may seem harmless enough but many have such dark under tones. Legends of Zelda, one of my favorite video games is directly connected to the occult. Disney's Kingdom Hearts is also a very dark magical TCG. Here is a quote taken directly from their website...

"In the Kingdom Hearts TCG, friends are essential to success! Beloved Disney characters such as Goofy and Donald Duck will aid you in your quest, but you had best use them wisely, since each friend will be discarded after use.

Each friend has a level, a Strength Value that can boost the strength of the Player Card, and a Magic Value the friend can use to cast magic." 

Role playing games in general are not good for kids to get involved in. Anything that encourages children to take on the identity of a make-believe character can begin to distort their view of reality. As they advance into the games the fine line of imagination and reality blur. When their character suddenly dies or is injured in the game they themselves can mentally, emotionally and sometimes physically become ill. Please look into the background of your video games and card games. Things are not as innocent as they first appear.